A voyage to the Isle of Mauritius, (or, Isle of France), the Isle of Bourbon, and the Cape of Good Hope, &c. With observations and reflections upon nature and mankind

I

.

<^~

VOYAGE

TO THE

ISLAND of MAURITIUS,

(Or, ISLE OF FRANCE)

THE

ISLE of BOURBON,

V

THE

CAPE of GOOD-HOPE, &c.

With Obfervations and Reflexions upon Nature*
and Mankind.

By a FRENCH OFFICER.

Homo fum ; human! oihil a me alien um puto. Tin*

TRANSLATED from the FRENCH
BY JOHN PARISH.

LONDON:

Printed for W. GRIFFIN, N» 6, Catbarint-Strttt, STRAND.
MDCCLXXV.

a -:' A

.a HA/.

.

TO THE
MOST NOBLE

THE

MARQUIS OF GRANBY.

MY LORD,

THE Permiffion I have obtained
of infcribing this Tranilation
to your Lordfliip, affords me a happy
Opportunity of exprefling my grateful
refpecl: to the Memory of your truly
NOBLE FATHER, and my EXCELLENT
PATRON— -'tis in vain for me to attempt
his Panegyric: All 1 could lay, would
be but as the feeble Eccho of a Nation's
Voice, loud raifed in Honour of his
Virtues. The Tafk would alfo be a
painful one : For while I wrote, Sor-
row would be excited that fo much
Worth were loft to his COUNTRY, to
his FAMILY, and to

DEDICATION.

Having declined to fpeak of your
Father's Virtues, I cannot my Lord,
with propriety enumerate Your's : But
thus far I may fay, and with truth;
that at fo early a period of Life, they
add Luftre to the high Rank you
fupport.

Your Lordfhip's Patronage is more
than a Compensation to the Author,
for my inability to do Juflice to his
Work, and reflects an Honour upon
me, of which I am very truly fenfible,

1 am, with the moft perfeft Refpeft,
M Y L O R D,

YOUR LORDSHIP'S

'•
moft devoted and

moft obedient
humble Servant,

June i, 1775.

JOHN PA RISK.

The TRANSLATOR'S

TH E Reader is here prefented with a
Tranflation of a Work, which the
late Doctor Goldfmith admired for the ac-
curacy and ingenuity of its Obfervatk>nst
and for the Spirit of Benevolence and Philan-
trohpy which breathes through the whole. He
wifhed it to be done into Englifh, and had he
lived, his correcting Hand would have rendered
the Tranflation more worthy of the Author
and of the Public favour, than in the ftate,
in which it is now fubmitted it to their
Candour.

The Syflem of Vegetation contained iii
the three laft Letters, is written in the Qri-

PREFACE.

ginal as a Dialogue : In its prefent form,
it is much morter, and yet contains fhe
meaning theAuthor would convey. A long
Table of Sea Terms is omitted, as alfo another
very long one of Contents, and a confide-
cable Part of the Journal from Port 1'Orient
to the Ifle of France, which^appeared rather
uninterefting. For the fame Reafon, and be-
caufe of the difficulties attending the Tranfla-
ting of the Conchyology, which Science in-
deed the Author profeflcs himfelf very little
acquainted with, the Defcription of that Part
of the Natural Hiftory is alfo omitted. By
this means the Tranflation is reduced to one
half the Bulk and Price of the Original.

Defifous to give the Reader every Informa-
tion relative to an Iflund which (to fay no
more of it) has been the Object of the parti-
cular Attention of two Men fo ingenious and
fo able as the Abbe de la Caille, and our
Author ; the Tranllutor begs Leave to infert
the following Extract from a late Publication,
the Author t>f which, Dr. Campbell, fpeaking
of the Ifle of France, fays, " incredible
" as it may feem, yet it is certainly Matter of
" Faft, that in the fpace of five Years he (Mon*

P R E E A C E.

" Jieur tie la Bourdonnais} rendered this Country
" a Paradife, that had been a Defart for five
" thoufand, and this in fpite of the Inhabi-
" tants, and of the Company, who being
" originally prejudiced by them, behaved
*' ill to him at his Return. He foon made
" the Cardinal de Fleury, however, fenfible
" of the true ftate of things, and compelled
" the Company to acknowledge, though they
*' did not reward, his Services. He after-
tf wards returned, as all the World knows,
" into the Indies, and perfected the Work he
" had begun ; and to him it is owing that
" the IJle of France is at prefent one of the
" fine ft, as it was always one of the moll
" Important and Improveable fpots upon the
" Globe."

THE

AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

THESE letters were written to my friends du-
ring my voyage. After my return, I put them
in order and printed them, as a public teftimony of
my acknowledgement of the good offices I had re-
ceived.

THE plan I have adopted is this ; having given
an account of the plants and animals natural to each
country, and of the foil in it's unimproved ftate, I
then fpeak of the characters and manners of the in-
habitant^*

fe WHAT

Trie AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

WHAT I have faid, will perhaps be deemed a Ik*
tire, but I can fay with truth, that in fpeaking of
men, I have fpoken of their good actions with ala-
crity, and of their faults with candor.

AFTER fpeaking of the Colonifls, I enter upon a
detail of the vegetables and animals with which they
have peopled the country. The induftry, the arts,
and the commerce of thefe countries ate all included
in agriculture. It mould feem that this art, fo fim-
ple, would be productive of the moil amiable man-
ners ; but the life led by the people of the We of
France, is far from a primitive one.

DEATH has matched from us Monfieur deTolbach,
Governor of the Cape, who had been very obliging
to me. If the place allotted him in thefe memoirs
cannot now ferve as acknowledgements, it may at
leaft be an ufeful example of conduct to thofe French-
men who may be appointed governors in India. If
from my account, they may be induced to imitate
his virtues, I (hall then indeed do honour to them.

I AM next to apologize for having treated of fomc
fubjects that I am a flranger to. I have written upon
plants and animals, but I am riot a Naturalift. Na-
tural Hiftory is not fhut up in libraries ; it has ra-
ther

The AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

tlier feemed to me, a volume, to be read by the whdk
world. I have traced through the whole, the moft
evident proofs of a providence -, and I have treated
it, not as a fyftem that is pleafmg to my fancy, but
as a fentiment with which my heart is filled.

I SHALL at leaft, I think, have been of ufe to
mankind, if the faint fketch I have given of the mi-
ferable lot of the Negroe flaves, fhould lave them
from one itrokeof the whip-, and if the Europeans who
ib loudly exclaim againft tyranny, and among whom
are compofed fuch beautiful treatifes of morality,
may hereby be induced to ceafe being in India the
moft barbarous of all tyrants.

I SHALL think I have done fervice to my country,
if I prevent but one fingle man of worth from quit-
ting it, and if I have determined him to cultivate one
additional acre in foine heath that yet never has felc
the plough.

To be fenfible of this love for his country, a man
muft firft quit it. I am attached to mine, although
neither by my fortune, nor the rank I hold in it : but
the place where I firft faw the light, is dear to me :
There, I have felt, have loved, have fpoken.

THIS

The AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

THIS foil, fo generally adopted by ftrangers, is
delightful to me : here, all that can be definable, is
in abundance ; and France, by the temperature of it's
climate, the excellence of it's vegetables, and the in-
duftry of its inhabitants, is to be preferred to either
India.

IN fine, I love this country, where my connections
are numerous, where efteem is the moft refined^
friendfhip moft intimate, and virtue moft amiable.

VOYAGES

V O Y A G E, &c.

LETTER I.

^.Janiiary, 1768.

I AM juft arrived at L'Orient after having felt the
moft fevere cold. The road was frozen from
Paris to within ten leagues of Rennes. This city,
which was burnt in 1720, has nov; a grandeur which
it owes to its misfortune. There are feveral new
buildings, two handlbme fquares, a ftatue of Lewis
the XV th. and alfo one of Lewis the XIV th. The
infide of the Parliament-Houfe is handfomely deco-
rated, but with rather too much uniformity. The
pannels of the wainfcot are painted white, and have
gilt moldings. Molt of the churches and public
buildings are in this tafte. In other refpects, Rennes
is but a difmal town. It is fituated at the confluence
of the Villaim and the IJle ; two fihall rivers. Its
fuburbs are formed of fome dirry houfes ; the ftreets
are ill paved. The common people drefs in a coarfe
brown ftuff, which gives them very much an air of
poverty.

I SAW in Britany, a vafi deal of uncultivated
Jand. Nothing grows upon it but broom, and ail. rub
with yellow flowers, which appeare4 to me a com-

B pofiticn

2 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

pofition of thorns. The country people call it Landt
or Jan *. They bruife it to feed their cattle with -f.
The broom ferves only to heat their ovens -, it might
be turned to better account, and efpecially in a mari-
time country. The Romans made a cordage of it,
which they preferred to hemp, for their fhipping. 1
owe this observation to Pliny, who is known to have
commanded the fleets of the Empire £.

MIGHT not thefe lands be fown to good purpofe:
with potatoes, a certain fubfiftence, which can nei-
ther fuffer by inclement feafons, nor the ftorehoufes
of monopolizers.

INDUSTRY feems checked equally by an Ariftocra-
tic government, or in apays d'etats §. The Peafant,
who is without a reprefentative in the afiembly, is
likewife without protection. In Britany he is ill clad,
drinks nothing but water, and lives upon black
bread.

THE mifery of mankind always increafes in the
fame degree as their dependance. I have feen the

* In one word, Furzt. T. f This is pra&ifed in forae parts
Of England, f.

J T,his broom, which the author faw in Britany, muft be of
the kihd, a fpecissof the Spanifh Spartum, which it is well known'
was ufed by the Ancients inftead of hemp. T.

§ Many provinces in France have a kind of Parliament, and
are called Pais d' Etats. Thefe Etats are nothing more than an
aflcmbly of the Nohlefle of the province, who meet at leaft once
in every three years, for little other purpofe, than to raife money
for the crown ; and in ratfing, take care to pay nothing them-
felvcs. Such anAriftocratioal aflembly, is fuppofed by many po-
liticians, to be more tyrannical, thaa a loie and abfolute gover-
nor. The Reader will diftinguifh the Etats from the Parlement,
which in France, is only a Supreme Court of Judicature ; by
which, indeed, the King's edifts are obliged ,to be regiilered, be-
fore they are regularly of authority. T.

peafant •

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCES 3

peafant rich in Holland -, at his eafe in Pruflia ; in a
tolerable comfortable Hate in RufTia, and labouring
under the greateft penury in Poland : I fhall then
certainly fee the Negro, who is the Peafant of our
colonies, in a deplorable (late. I account thus for
what I have faid •, in a republic there is no fovereign,
in a monarchy, but one j but in an ariilocracy, every
peafant is fubject to his particular tyrant.

LIBERTY Is the parent of induftry. The Swifs
peafant is ingenious, the villain of Poland is without
imagination. This ftupor of the foul, which enables
a man, even more than philofophy, to bear up againit
misfortune, feems to me to be. a peculiar bleiling.
When Jupiter, fays Homer, reduce', a man to the
jiate cf ajla"<je^ he takes from him c:ie half of bis under-
fianding*

EXCUSE thefe reflections. When I fee mankind
ftru.ggling with great miferies, I cannot help enquir-
ing, what will remedy them, or from whence they
arife.

INT Lower Britany, Nature appears as it were,
dwindled. The hills, rallies, trees, men and ani-
mals are very fmall there.

THERE are in many places quarries of flate, and
of black and red marble, and mines of lead, mix-
ed with filver, which is very ductile. But the real
riches of this country are its linens, its threads, and
cattle. Induilry revives with liberty, from the vi-
cinity of the fea-ports. This is perhaps, the only
good confequence of a maritime commerce, which
is little elfe than an avarice, pointed out by law.
Strange lot of man, that he mould frequently de-
duce greater benefits from the indulgence of his
paflions, than from the exercife of his reafon.

B 2 THB

4 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCF.

THE peafant here is much at his eafe ; he looks
upon himfelf at liberty, from the neighbourhood of
an element, all the roads to which are open. Op-
preflion cannot extend itfelf to any thing beyond his
fortune : Is he hard prefied, he embarks himfelf,
and on fhipboard finds the oak of his own inclo-
fures ; the linens woven by his own family, and
grain, the growth of his own fields : Houfhold Gods
by whom he has been abandoned ! In the commander
of the veflel, he frequently recognizes the Lord of
his own village, and in their common mifery fees
him a man, whole fortune is more to be complained
of than his own. At liberty to judge of his own
fituation, he becomes mafter of it ; and feated on
the yard-arm, decides in the fury of a ftorm upon
that, which on more, he durft not make an object
of enquiry.

I HAVE not yet feen Port L'Orient. Half a
league before our arrival, we crofled a fmall arm
of the fea in a ferry-boat : I could fcarcely diftin-
guifh the town. A thick fog covered the horizon :
This is occafioned by the vicinity of the fea ; but
the winter is. the lefs fevere on this account.

THIS obfervation holds good as well in the neigh-
bourhood of pools and lakes, as of the fea. May
not this be to favour the propagation of a multi-
tude of infects, and water vermin that inhabit the
fands of the more ? Whether this conjecture is right
or not, the facility of living there, and the mild
temperature, draw from the North an infinite num-
ber of fea and water-fowls.

NATURE may well referve for them fome por-
tion of the coaft, and of mild air, when me has
allotted to the fifties alone, above half the world.
I am, &c.

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

L E T T E R II.

L 'Orient, January 18, 1768.

L 'ORIENT is a fmajl town in Britany, which the
commerce of the Earl Indies renders daily more
flourishing. It is, like .all other new towns, regular,
the ftreets in ftrait lines, but unfiqimed. It is but
indifferently fortified. There are fome fine ware-
houfes, the Hotel des Ventes, and a tower, whence
one may fee, wharfs which are but juft begun, and
ground plats whereon buildings are marked out. — It
is fituated at the bottom of a bay which receives the
rivers Blavet and Pon!corf\ they are navigable, and
a valt many mips come down by them to L'Orient.
The entrance of this bay is narrow, and defended by
a work they call Port Louis, or Blavet. The cita-
del of which is too much raifed, and muft occafion.
the Ihot fired from it to be but of little effect. Its
flanks, too narrow in themfelves, have alfo Orillons,
which are never of ufe, but for defending the ditch ;
and there is none here but the fea, which wafhes the
foot of the ramparts.

PORT Louis is an old, and deferted city. 'Tis
a Gentleman of an ancient family in the neighbour-
hood of an Eafl-India Nabob. The people of fafhion
live at Port Louis ; but the merchants, the muflin,
and filk warehoufes., the money, and the pretty wo-
men, are all at L'Orient. Their manners are the
fame here as in other commercial ports. Every man's
purfe is open : but he lends money in the grofs only ;

B 3

6 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

the intereft of a fum for the Indies is twenty-five or
thirty per cent, per ann. The borrower is much
worfe off than he that lends •, his profits are uncer-
tain, his bonds are not fo. The law authorifes th;s
lending of money by contracts, and they give the
creditors a fort of claim upon the whole fhip's cargo.
A power which extends over the entire fortune of
moil of the feafaring people.

THERE are three mips ready to fail for the I fie of
France, the Digue, the Conde, and the Marquis de
Caflries, There are others fitting out, and fome
more on the ftocks. The noife of the carpenters and
caulkers, the concovirfe of ftrahgers, and the perpe-
tual moving about of veffels in the road, excites in
the people a third after every thing that is maritime :
the idea of fortune, conftantly accompanying that of
the Indies, adds to the illufion. You would think
yourfelf a thoufand leagues from Paris. The people
of the country no longer fpeak French ; thofe iq
town, know no other mafter, than the Eaft-India
Company, The better fort of people talk of the Ifle
of France and Pondicherry, as if they were juft by,
You will fuppofe that counting-houfe difputes come
here in the bales from India, for intereft rather tends
to feparate men from, each other, than to bring them
together.

I am, &c,

LET-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

LETTER III.

Port U Orient ^ February 20, 1771.

TT7 E waited only a fair wind, to fet fail. My

* * pafiage is taken on board the Marquis de
Caflries, a mip of eight hundred tons, and one hun-
dred and forty-fix men, loaden with naval (lores for
Bengal. My birth is a little recefs from the Great
Cabin. There are fifteen paffengers, moft of whom
are lodged in the Gun-room, the place where they
put the cartouches, and ordnance {tores. The-
Matter Gunner has the care of this parr, and lodges
hc^re, as do alfo the Secretary, Chaplain, and Surgeon.
Over this is the Great Cabin, where the pafTengen
dine with the Captain. Over this again is the
"* Council Chamber, and the Captain's Cabin ; it is
decorated on the outfide with a gallery, and is the
fined room in the fhip. The officers cabins are be-
fore you come to thefe abovementioned, that they
may with the more eafe look to what is going forward
upon deck.

THE crew lodge on the Forecaftle, and between
decks, a difmai hole, where one can fee nothing.
The -j- Galliards are the length of the whole fhip,
which is level with the Great Cabin, and has a gang-
way before it, as the Cabin has. The Kitchen, or
Cook-room, is under the Forecaftle. The provifions
and merchandizes in the Hold; and the Powder-
room is under the Gun-room.

* Called in EngliOi, the Coach. T.

f Galliards ; the fhip muft, from this defcription, have had a
fpare deck, Tt

B 4 I HAVE

8 VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE.

I HAVE given you a general fketch of the difpofir
tion of our fhip •, but to defcribe the diforder of it,
is impofijble. There is no getting alon.g for the cafks
of champagne, wine, trunks, cheils and boxes every
where about. Sailors fwearing, cattle lowing, birds
and poultry fcreaming upon the Poop -, and, as it
blows hard, we have the additional noife of the
whiftling of the Ropes, and the cracking of the
timbers and rigging as the fhip rolls about at anchor.
Several other ihips lay near us, and we are deafened
by the hallowing of their officers to us, through their
fpeaking-trumpets.

WEARIED with this uproar, I got into a boat and
went afhore at Port Louis.

THE wind was very high ; we walked through the
flreets, but met nobody. From the walls of the cita-
del, I fa\v the Horizon very black, and the iiland of
Grci covered with a thick fog -, upon the more crouds
of women chilled with cold and fear, and a centinel
at the point of the Baftion, in aftoniihment at the
hardineis of the poor wretches? who were fiihing in,
the midfc of the tempeit,

WE returned, buttoned up clofe, wet through,
and holding on our hats with -our hands. As we
went along, the ftreets were covered with fifh ; white
and purple fkait, thornbacks, dog fim, conger eels
of a monflrous fize, large bafkets full of crabs and
lobfters, heaps of oyfters, mufcles and cockles, cod-
lings, foles, and turbots ; in fhort, as miraculous a
draught as that of the apoitles.

THESE good folks are not without faith ; for when
they fifh for pilchards, a prieft goes in the firft boat,
and gives his benediction to the wat;er. One might

fee

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 9

fee among them the conjugal affection of old times ;
for as they came dropping in, their wives and chil-
dren hung about their necks : it is among thefe hard

C3 m ^ ^J

working people, that fome remains of virtue is to be
found, as if man retained his morals no longer than
while he was in a Hate between hope and fear.

THIS part of the coaft abounds, in fifli : each
fpecies of which is, in general, larger than they are
elfewhere •, but their taite is inferior. I was allured,
that the pilchard fifhery brought in four millions of
livres, annually, to the revenue of the province. It
is rather fmgular, that there are no crawfifh in the
rivers of Britany j occafioned, perhaps, by J:he ftili-
nefs of the water.

WE are now got once more to our inn ; the noife
of the wind and fea (till buzzing in our ears. Two
Parifians, the Sieurs B***, father and fon, who were
to have gone in our Ihip, without faying a word to
us, ordered a chaife, and are gone to Paris.

LETTER

io VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

LETTER IV.

On board the MARQUIS DE CASTRIES, the $d of
MARCH, Eleven in the Morning.

I HAVE but juft time to fay adieu-, we are
fetting fail. Pray take care of the letters inclofed-,
three are for Ruflia, Pruffia, and Poland. Wherever
J have travelled, I left fomebody whom I regret.

BUT our anchor is a peek. I hear the noife of the
Boatfwain's whittle, the capftern, and the failors
heaving anchor. The laft gun is }uft fired. We are
under fail, and the fhore, the ramparts and roofs of
Port Louis begin to difappear. Adieu, ye friends,
who are dearer to me than the treafures of India.
Adieu ! Adieu !

JOURNAL.

VOYAGE to tkc I'M-. OF FRANCE. n"

JOURNAL.

MARC I-I, 1768.

WE failed on the third at a quarter paft eleven
in the morning, the wind at N. E. the tide
not being high enough, we w.ere very near touching
upon a rock, to the right of the Channel. When
we were abreaft of the ifland of Gra, we lay to for
jfome of the pafiengers and officers.

THE 4th, the weather was fine j but the wind be-
to rife, and the fea to run high in 'the evening.

THE 5th, a violent ftorm arofe •, the fhip was on
her way under her cburfes. I was terribly fea-fick.
At half paft ten in the morning, being in bed, I felt
a great fhock ; fomebody'crie'd out, that the (hip had
llruck. I went upon deck, where I found all the
people in confirmation. A wave {truck us on the
ilarboara-fide and carried away the yawl, with the
mate and three men. One of them only remained,
entangled in the fhrouds of the main mail, 'from
whence he was taken, with his moulder and hand
mattered to pieces. It was impofiible to'fave the
others j they were feen no more,

THIS misfortune happened by the veflels not an-
fwering the helm- Her poop was too low in the
water, to fuffer the rudder .to aft properly upon her.
The bad weather lafted all day, and the motion of
the fhip killed moft of the poultry. I had a dog on
£>oa.rd, that panted incefiantly with uneafinefs. The

only

12 VOYAGE to the ISLE of FRANCE.

only animals that feemed infenfible, were fome
fparrows and canary birds, accuftomed to a per-
petual motion. Thefe birds are carried to India as
curiofities.

I, as well as the other paflengers was exceedingly
fick. There is no remedy for this evil, which oc-
cafions the moft dreadful Teachings. It is good
however, to take fome dry food, and above all acid
fruits.

THE 6th, the weather being fine, we offered up
our prayers for the fouls of the poor failors we loil
in the late florm. The ilta, in breaking upon the
veffel, had fplit the beam that goes round the
hatchway, although it was ten inches thick.

THE yth, we reckoned ourfelves to be in the lati-
tude of Cape Finiftere, where gufts of wind, and a
great fea, as at all other capes, are very common.

THE 8th, a beautiful fea and fair wind. We
faw flying about, fome white birds with black bor-
ders round their wings ; they call them Manches de
Velours (Velvet Sleeves )

THE 9th and roth, the air began to be fenfibly
hotter, and the fky more pleafing. \Ve approached
the Fortunale iiland (the Azores) if it be true, that
Heaven has placed good fortune in any particular
ifland.

THE i ith, the wind fell calm, the fea was covered
with bonnets de feu (bonnets of fire} a kind of mu-
cilage, formed into the fhape of a cap, with a pro-
greffive motion. In the morning we law a fliip.

THE

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 13

THE i zth and I3th, Come good regulations
were made. It was agreed, that each paflenger
Ihould have but one bottle of water a day. Break-
faft was to be at ten every morning, and was to
confift of faked meats and dry vegetables. Our
afternoon meal, at four o'clock, was a rather better
repaft. All fires were to be put out at eight o'clock.

ON the 1 4th, we expected to fee the ifland of
Madeira, but we were too much weftward; it
was calm all day. We faw two birds, brown, and
of the fize of a pigeon, flying to the weftward, as
high as the mails. We took them for land birds,
and judged, from theic appearing, that fome ifland
was to our left hand.

THE 1 5th, the calm continued; but the wind
rofe a little towards night : an Englifh brig palled us
in the afternoon, and ialuted us with his flag.

THE 1 6th, at fun rife, we faw the ifland of

Palma before us ; on the left is the ifland of Teneriffe

with its Pike, which is in the fliape of a dome, with

a pyramid on the top. Thefe iflands were enveloped

in a fog all day, and at night in florins of lightning :

an appearance which terrified the mariners who firfl

difcovered them. It is known, that the Romans had

heard of them-, becaufe Sertorius was defirous of

retiring to them. The Carthaginians, who traded

on the coaft of Africa, knew them well, Juba, the

hiftorian, fays, there are five of them •, and defcribes

them at large : he calls one of them the Ifle of Snow,

becaufe it is covered with it all the year. The Pike

is, in fact, covered with mow, although the air is fo

hot. Thefe iflands are the ruins of that large ifland

of Atlantis, of which Plato fpeaks. By the depth of

the cavities, out of which their mountains are raifed,

one

14 VOYAGE to tie ISLE of FRANCE.

one would think they were the ruins of this original
world, when overturned by an event, the tradition
of which remains among all nations. According to
Juba, the ifland of Canary took it's name from the
large dogs bred there. The Spaniards, to whom they
belong, got excellent Malmfey * from thence.

THE 1 7th, i8th, and icjth, we pafled through the
midft of thefe iflands, having Teneriffe on our left,
and Palma on our right; Gomera was to the eaft-
ward. I took a draught of thefe iflands, which are
cut in with very deep ravines (or furrows.)

WE faw a flying fifh. A lapwing came and perch-
ed on our fhip, and took it's flight to the weft •, it
was of an orange-colour, it's wings and aigrette
mottled with black and white, its beak is black as
ebony, and a little bent.

THE 2oth, we left the ifland of Ferro to the
weft, and loft fight of all the Canaries. The fight
of thofe iflands, lituated in fo fine a climate, excited
in us many fruitlefs wifhe?. We compared the re-
pofe, and abundance, the union and pleafures of thefe
iflands, to our own unquiet life of agitation. Per-
haps, at feeing us pafs by, feme unhappy Canarian
was upon a burning rock, wifhing himfelf on board
a (hip, that fleered under full fail for the Eaft-Indies.

THE 2 1 ft, we faw a land-fwallow, arid afterwards
a ftiark. While we were in the latitude of thefe

* The wine at prefent brought from the Canaries, is chiefly
fack, which name, it is generally fuppofed to have always been
diftinguifhed by ; yet I have heard fome firlt-rate critics doubt very
much, whether any human being could drink fack and fagar
for pleafure ; and they therefore (ufpecl, that FalitafFs fack was
Rheniftx Wine. 7'.

iflands,

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. t£

iilands, we were becalmed all day, the wind rifmg
in the evening only.

THE 22d, the weather was fo hot, as to occa-
fion feveral bottles of Champagne to break, al-
though they were cafed in fait j this is a ftore, that
rnoft of the Officers going to India take with them ;
it is fold there at a piitole a bottle. This inundation,
which penetrated every thing, deftroyed fome Itttices
and creiTes, that I had fown in wet mofs, where thefe
plants grow furprizingly. This faked liquor was fo
very corrofive, as to entirely fpoil all my papers that
got wetted with it.

THE 2 jd, we had a very frefh wind; the fea
appeared to be grey and greenifh, as upon banks,
or in foundings ; they pretend to find foundings
above eighty leagues from the coaft of Africa, which
is but little raifed in thefe latitudes. We faw a fnip
bearing away for Senegal.

THE 24th, we found the trade wind, from the
N. W, The mip rolled very much.

THE 25th and «6th, fine weather and fair wind ;
we pafled the latitude of the Cape de Verd ifiands,
but did not fee them; they belong to Portugal-
frefh provifions are to be had there ; but water,"the
chief article, is very fcarce. We faw fome flying
fifties and a land fwallow. The French wheat, in
the Bread-room, heated to fuch a degree, that there
was no bearing one's hand in it. It has happened
fometimes, that mips have been fet on fire by this
means. In 1760, an Engliili fliip, loaden with
hemp, was burnt in the Baltic. The hemp took
fire of itfelf. I faw the wreck of her on the coaft
of the ifle of Bornholm.

THB

16 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

THE 27th, an awning was fpread from head to
ftern, to fhelter the people from the heat. We faw
fome galeresj a fpecies of living mucilage.

THE 28th and 29th, we faw flying-rim, and a great
number of tunny-fifh.

THE 3Oth, our men got ready for fifhing, and took
ten tunny-fifh, the leaft of which weighed fixty pounds ;
we faw a mark. The heat increafed, and the crew
bore their thirft with great impatience.

THE gift, we took a bonnito •, fome thirty failors
in the night opened the water jars of feveral pafTen-
gers, who by that means found themfelves, as the
crew were, reduced to a pint of water a day.

Some OBSERVATIONS on the MANNERS of
SEAFARING PEOPLE.

I WILL only fpeak of the influence the fea has upon
thefe men, in order that thofe faults which are the
confequences of their way of life, may meet with the
indulgence due to them. x ^

THE hafte which is abfolutely neceflary in opera-
tions on board a mip, renders them coarfe in their
expreflions. Living at a diftance from land, they
think themfelves independent ; hence it is that they
frequently fpeak of Princes, laws or religion, with
a freedom equal to their ignorance. Not but they
are in fome circumftances, devout, and even fuper-
ftitious. I have known more than one, who would
not fo much as touch a rope on a Sunday or Friday.
But in general, their religion depends upon the
weather.

THE

VOYAGE to the ISLE or FRANCS. 17

THE idlenefs in which they live, makes them fond
of fcandal and (lories. The quarter-deck is the place
where the officers deal out fables and wonders,

THE habit of making new acquaintances continu-
ally, renders them inconitant in their fociety and tafte,
At fea they wifti for land, on more they murmur that
they are not at lea.

IN a long voyage, it is beft to give way a little^
and never to difpute. The fea naturally fours the
temper •, and the flighted contradiction will breed a
quarrel. I have feen one arife on a queftion in philo-
fophy. It is true thefe queflions have fometimes
caufed no fmall mifchief on more;

IN general, they are filent and thoughtful ; who
can be gay, when furrounded with dangers, and de-
prived of the principal neceflaries of life ?

THEIR good qualities however, muft not be for-
gotten. They are open, generous, brave, and above
all, good hufbands. A feaman looks upon himfelf
as a ftranger when afliore, and moflly fo in his own
houfe. Unaccuftomed to the manner of living, he
leaves to his wife the management of a world, of
which he is ignorant*

To thefe good and bad qualities of4 feamcn, muft
be- added the vices of their education* They are
given to drunkennefs. Every day a ration of wine
or brandy ia ifTued, There are fevert men in a mefs,
and I have fcen them agree among themfelves to drink
alternately the allowance of the whole feven. Some
of them are given to thieving •, and there are of theie,
men fo dextrous as to ftnp their comrades while
others again, are of an extraordinary pro*

c bity.

iS VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

bity. The mafter and gunner, are commonly the
men entrufled, upon whom devolves the government
of the crew. One may add to thefe, the chief pilot,
who, I don't know why, does not hold among us
that rank which his merit deferves •, he is but the
firft officier marinier *. Upon thefe three men depends
the good behaviour of the crew, and very often the
jfuccefs of the navigation.

THE laft man in the fhip is the cook. The
cabbin-boys are often ufed very barbaroufly. There
is fcarce an officer or failor, that does not make
them fenfible when he is in an ill humour. They
even amufe themfelves on board fome mips, with
flogging them in calm weather, to procure a wind -K
Thus, man, who is fo often complaining of his weak-
nefs, feldom has power, but he abufes it.

You will gather from all this, that a fhip is a place
of difTention •, that a convent and an ifland, which is
a kind of fhip, mud be filled with difcord ; and that
the intention of Nature, which is in other refpefts fo
plainly pointed out, is, that the earth mould be
peopled with families, and not with focieties and fra-
ternities.

* In Britifli men of war, the Captain and Lieutenants, are con-
fidered as Gentlemen by their office, and generally are fo by their
behaviour or birth. They all have commitfions. The mafter,
his mates, and the carpenter, gunner, &c. are only warrant offi-
cers, and in general are low born and educated, people, who by
their good behaviour, and application in their refpeftive branches
in feamanfhip, have qualified themfelves for their particular com-
mands. Thefe are what the Author probably means by ojficiers
mar inters, 7~.

f This curtom is not unknown to many of oar cabbin-
boys. T. ...

APRIL

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF

1768.

THE ift, we faw fome marks and took one, as
alfo a bonite. I intend to continue my oblervations
dn fifties at the end of my journal for this month.

THE 2d, we had calm weather, and now and
then fqualls. — We are upon the borders of the fout'h-
ern trade windSi In the afternoon we had a fquall
that made us reef all our fails. We draw near to
the line ; and have now very little twilight,

THE 3d, wre took fome bonnitos, and a- mark.
We were conitantly furrounded by the fame mole
of tunny fifh.

THE 4th, we had a ftormy fky, and a violent
fquall, with thunder at a diflance. A failor died of
the fcurvy, Many others are ill of it. This difor-
der mewing itfelf fo early, fpreads an alarm through
the whole crew. We took feveral bonitos and
marks.

THE 5th and 6th, yefterday morning at three
o'clock, it blew a mofl terrible ftofm, and obliged
us to reef all our fails except the mizen. I have
always remarked, that the rifing of the moon difpels
the clouds very perceptibly, Two hours after it is
above the horizon, the fky is perfectly clear. We
had a calm thefe two days, and fome drops of rain,

THE 7th, we took fome bonitos. I faw fome
glafs cut with fciffars under water ; the caufe of
which 1 am ignorant of.

THE 8th and 9th, we caught one mark, fome
fucking-rim, or remoras, and two tunny fames,

C 2 Although

20 YOYAGE to the ISLE or FRANCF.

Although near the line, the heat was not very trou-
blefome to me j the air is cooled by the ftorms.

THE loth, the ducking at the line, was announ-
ced, we were within one degree. A failor difguifsd
in a mafk, came to the Captain, and defired him to
caufe the old cuftom to be obferved. This is a fro-
lic defigned to divert the melancholy of the crew.
The failors are very difpirited ; the fcurvy gets a-head
among them, and we have not gone one third of the
voyage.

THE nth, the ceremony of dipping was per-
formed. The principal pafiengers were ranged along
a cord, to which their thumbs were tied with a rib-
band. Some drops of water were poured on their
heads, and they then gave ibme money to the pilots.

THE wind was contrary ; the fky and the fea very
fine.

THE 1 2th, we could not get paft the line.
The currents ran northward. We now fee the
polar-ftar no more. We faw a fhip to tic Eaft.

•THE i gth, we croiTed the line. The fea ap-
peared at night, as if covered with phofphorus.
The lower deck is cleaned, every Sunday ; the chefts
and hammocks of the crew are brought upon deck,
and then pitch is burnt between decks ; the third
part of the water-cafks were found to be empty, al-
though we had not gone near a third of our voyage.

THE 1 4th, 1 5th, and 1 6th, the winds varied..
It was very hot. We were continually furround-
ed with bonitos, tunny-fifh, porpoifes, and flemim-

caps.

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 21

caps. We faw a fhark of an enormous fize. The
weather calm in general, but ibmetimes ftormy.

THE i;th, i8th, and i<)th, the calms and the
heats continued. The pitch melted from the rig-
ging. Spleen and impatience increafed aboard the
(hip. JTis not unufual to lay becalmed a whole
month under the line. I law a whale going to
the weftward,

THE 20th, 2 1 ft, and 22d, the calm, and
uneafmefs continued •, the ftiip was furrounded with
marks. We faw one tied to a paillaifon, in a large
ridge of furf running from Eaft to Weil. It was
alive -, fome mip had certainly paffed by juft before
us.

WE catched fome tunny-fifties, bonitoes, five or
fix marks, and a porpoife, with a very ftiarp point-
ed head. The failors fay that the porpoife tor-bodes
•wind ; in effect, at midnight it arofe.

THE 2gd, we entered at laft into the South-
Weft trade-winds, which were to carry us be-
yond the other tropic. We took fome bonitos and
tunny- fifh. As we were drawing one of thefe fifties
out of the water, a fhark catched it by the tail, and
broke the line. We faw a frigate-bird ; it is black
and grey, and nearly of the fame form as a ftork.
Its flight is very lofty.

THE 24th and 25th, we had forne fqualls, which
occafioned the wind to change. Towards evening
the moon was encompaffed with a large halo.
We catched bonitos, and tunny fifh.

C 3 THE

i? VOYAGE lo the ISLE OF FRANCE,

The 26th, we faw frigate-birds, flying-fifti,
tunny-fifti, bonitos, and a white bird, which the
crew faid was a booby. In th.e evening, all the
fails being fet, we were attacked by a violent fquall,
which laid us on one fide for fome minutes. Our
(hip is a bad failor, and when the wind is quite fair?
makes but about two leagues an hour,

D

The 27th, the fea ran high -, the wind was
frefh, and had fome fqualls of rain. We faw the
fame fifties, and a halcyon, which the Englifh
call the Bird of Storms * . I mall referve an article
pf my journal for fea-fowl,

THE 28th, we had frelh winds, and fqualls,
with rain. Six guns were carried forward,

from the aft-part of the fhip, that being

deeper in the water forward, me might fleer the
better. We had very ftormy weather, which is rare
in thefe latitudes. Saw the fame tunnies.

THE 29th, fine weather, but fometimes fqually,
We faw fome frigate-birds, and a white bird,
with wings marked with grey. At fun-fet, we
faw a mip to windward, fleering the fame courfe
as we.

THE goth, a fine frem wind and beautiful
fea. The air cooler. We faw the iliip we had
feen laft night, a little to windward. She had
crouded fail i we did the like ; me hoifled Englifh
colours, we ours. We catched tunnies, and faw
fly ing-iim *

* Petrers, alluding it is faid, to St. Peter, when our Saviour
walked on the fea. They feem to walk in a ihip's wake, parti-
cularly in dorms. The common failors call chem Mother Carey's
Qdiiktm.

O B S E R-

VOYAGE to tie IAE of FRANCE. 23

OBSERVATIONS upon the SEA and
FISHES.

THERE is fcarcely fo difmal a fight as the main
fea. A man becomes prefently impatient of being
in the centre of a circle, the circumference of which
he never attains to. It however prefents fome very
interefting fcenes. I do not fpeak of it when tem-
peftuous only. During a calm, and efpecially at
night in hot climates, it is furprizing to fee the fpark-
ling of it. I have taken in a glafs fome of thofe
luminous points of which it is full; and .have feen
them move about with great vivacity. They are
faid to be the fry of fiih •, and are fometimes feen in
a heap together appearing like moons. At night,
when the fhip is under way, and is furrounded by
6m that accompany it, the fea appears like a vail
firework, all fparkling with ferpents and filver
fpangles.

I LEAVE you to think what a prodigious quantity
of living beings this element mull be the country of.
I confine myfelf to fome obfervations upon different
fpecies of fiihes found in the main fea.

. THE bonnet-flamand, which I believe the Ancients
called pulmo-marinus^ is a fpecies of animal, formed
of a very glaring fubftance. It is not unlike a cham-
pignon, or mufhroom. Its upper part has a power
of contraction and dilatation, by the which it moves
very Qowly. I know no other property of it.; *tis
fo common, that we found the fea covered with it
for many days. It can change its fhape and colour ;
but the (hape naturally is always the fame. They
are found very large upon the coaft of Normandy.

C 4 THE

24 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

Z ga'ere is of the fame fubilance, but feems
endued with more intelligence and malignity. Its
body is a kind of oval bladder, covered lengthways
with a tuft of fail, which is always out of the wa-
ter, in the fame direction as the wind. When over-
turned by a wave, it rifes again quickly, and always
prefents the convex fide of its bo<iy to the wind. I
have feen many of them together, ranged like a fleet
of fhips. There might perhaps, be fome kind of
fail contrived upon this principle, by means of which
a bark might get on, although the wind were contrary.
From the lower part of the galere, hang ftveral
long blue filaments, with which it feizes whatever
attempts to take it. Thefe filaments burn immedi-
ately, like the moft violent cauitic. I one day faw a
young failor who fwam after, and attempted to catch
one of them, burnt on the arm fo terribly, that the
fright nearly occafioned his being drowned. The
ga/ere, while alive, is the moft beautiful colours ;
fome of them are of a lky-b.lue, and fome of a
rofe-colour. The bonnet rflamand *, is found in, our
feas, and the galerc in thofe near the tropics.

IN the latitude of the Azores, I faw a kind of
fhell-fim, floating and living on the furface of the fea,
fhaped like the beard of an arrow, or beak of a bird.
It is fmall, tranfparent, and very eafy to break.
This is perhaps the fame that is found in Amber-
greafe.

IN the fame latitude, we found fome fnails, that
were blue, and floated on the furface of the water,
like bladders filled with air. Their fhell was very
thin and brittle, and filled with a Ikjuor of a beau-

* Or Flemifh Bonnet.

tiful

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 2$

tiful purplifh blue colour. This is not however, the
purple fifh of the Ancients.

A SPECIES of fhell-fifh much more common, is
that which flicks itfelf to the fides of the fhip, by
means of a ligament, which it fhortens or contracts,
in bad weather. It is white, fhaped like an almond,
and compofed of four pieces. It puts out a number
of filaments, that have a regular motion. They
multiply fo very faft, that the courfe of the fhip is
fenfibly retarded by them.

THE flying-Em is very common between the tro-
pics. 1 1 is of the fize of a herring. It flies in a troop
and at one fingle fpring, the ufual flight of a par-
tridge. In the lea, 'tis hunted by the fifties, and in
the air by the birds. It's defliny leems a very unfor-
tunate one, that in the air the fame danger fliould
await it, which it fled from in the water. But it has
a compeniation for the misfortune, for as a fifh, it
often efcapes from the birds, and as a bird from the
fimes. 'Tis in ftorms chiefly, that it is feen flying
from \htfregattes and tunnies, which make prodigious
leaps in puriuit of it.

THE evcornet, makes nearly the fame manoeuvre
as the flying-fifh. It has the faculty of black'ning
the water by throwing into it a very black ink, and
it does not fwim altogether fo well ; it is of a conoid
form. Thefe two kinds of fifh frequently fall on
board of mips, and are very fine eating.

THE tunny-fifh of thefe feas differs in tafte from
that of the Mediterranean. It is very dry, and has
no fat but in the eye. It has very little entrails.
Its Mem appears pinched, or comprefled together
by the fkin. Eight mufcles, four large, and four

fmall,

j6 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

'mall, form its body, the tranfverfe fection of which
relembles that of a tree. They filh for it at fun-rile,
and fun-fet, becaufe then the lhade of the waves dif-
guifes the bate, which is made to reprefent a flylng-
ftfh. This fhoal of tunnies followed us thefe fix weeks
paft. They are eafily known ; among them there is
fcfie^ which has a red wound on the back, from being
ftruck with a harpoon a fortnight ago : but his courfe
was not retarded by it.

CAN a fith cxffl without fleep, and is fea-water of
a healing, quality to wounds ? 1 have fomewhere read
that Monfieur cle Chirac, cured the Duke of Orleans
of a wound in the wrifl, by ordering it to be (beeped
In the waters of Balaru.

THE tunny when eaten frefh, is wholefome, though
it occafions thirft, — it is dangerous in thefe latitudes
to eat it faked — for one of our failors having done
fo, his fkin turned as red as fcarlet, and he had a
fevtr for twenty-four hours after.

AMONG the tunnies we took a number of bonkos.
Tfcey are a fort of mackarel, fome of which are as
large as tunnies. In the rkfh of many were found
living worms, as big as a grain of barleyj which did
Hot feem at all troublefome to the filh.

SHARKS are very numerous near the Line. As
ibon as it is calm the fhip is furrounded with them-
This fifh fwims along ilowly, and without noiie.
It is preceded -by many, frnall -fifhes called pilot-
fifh, fpeckled with black ^nd yellow. If any thing
falls into the fea, they mftantly reconnoitre, and re-
turn to the fhark, who approaching his prey, turns
himfelf, and devours it. -J.f it is a bird, he -does not

touch

.VOYAGE u the ISLX OF FRANCE. 27

touch it ; but when prefTed by hunger, lie fwallows
every thing, even iron nails.

THE fhark is the tyger of the fea. I have feen
jfome, more than ten feet long. By nature it is very
mort-fighted. It fwims very (lowly, from the round
form of its head, which joined to the pofition of its
mouth, that obliges it to turn upon its fide, in order
to fw allow, prelerves a number of Ernes from its vo-
racity. It has no bones, but cartilages, like other
fifties of prey, as the fea-dog, the thornback, the
polypus. Thefe like the mark, fee but badly, are
flow fwimmers, and have their mouths placed quite
beneath, and are alfo viviparous.

The jaws of the mark are armed with five or
fix rows of teeth above and below. They are fiat,
and fharp at the fides, which are ferrated. They have
but two rows perpendicular, the others are hidden,
and difpofed in fuch a manner, that they"replace by
an admirable mechanifm, thofe that frequently are
liable to be broken.

THEY bait for it with a piece of flem, fattened up-
on an iron crook. Before they draw it out of the
water, they fix round the fail a Hiding knot, and as
foon as it is upon the deck, and attempts to ftrike,
or wound the failors, they cut it orT with a hatchet.
This tail has but one fin, fhaped like a fickle. The
Chinefe efteem this as an aphrodifiaque. In other
reipefts, this filh is of no utility. Its fkfh has a tafte
of the thornback, and a fmell of urine, and is rec-
koned feverifh. The failors filh for this creature,
merely to deftroy it. They put out the eyes, gut
them, tie two or three together by the -tails, and
throw them into the fea ; a fpeclacle worthy of a faU
lor. The fhark is fo vivacious, as to move, long

after

$8 VOYAGE to the ME OF FRANCE.

after the head is cut off; yet, I have fcen them
drowned very faft, by being plunged feveral times in
the fea, after being ilruck by a hook, which keeps
their mouth open.

WE almoft conftantly took upon the Shark, a fifti
called a Sucking-rim, or Remora^ about as big as a
Herring. It has upon the head an oval furrace, a
little concave, with which it fixes itfelf upon any
body, by forming a vacuum, between the oval fur-
face and the body, to which it adheres in the manner
of a leathern fucker. I have put fome of them alive
upon an even fmooth glafs, from which I could not
afterwards take them. This fifh has this Angularity,
that it fwims with the head and gills out of water,
its fkin is courfe and rough, and its mouth armed
with feveral rows of fmall teeth. We often have
eaten the Sucking-fifh, and found the tafte like fried
artichokes.

BESIDES the Pilot and Sucking-fifh, the Shark
nourifhes under it's fkin an infect, fhaped like the
half of a pea, with a beak that projects a long way.
It is a kind of loufe.

THE Porpoife is a fifh well known. I have fecn of
one fort, that has the fnout very pointed. The
failors, on account of its fwiftnefs, call it the Sea-
arrow. I have feen them go quite round about the
(hip, while me made two leagues an hour. They
throw a dart at this animal, which pants when taken,
and feems to complain ^ it is a bad fifh ; it's flefh is
black, hard, grofs and oily.

I HAVE alfo feen a Dor ado ^ which they fay, is the
lighted of all fifh. It is alfo faid, that this is the
Dolphin of the antients, fo fully defcribed by Pliny.

Be

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 29

Be as it may, we did not experience much of it's
friendfhip to mankind ; but faw, at a great depth,
the mining of its golden fins, and it's back of a beau-
tiful azure.

WE fometimes faw, at half a league's diftance,
Whales, throwing up their jetdeau. They are
fmaller here than in the North ; and appeared to me,
a far off, like a boat, bottom upwards.

SUCH are the fpecies of fifh I have hitherto feen,
Sharks are feen in a calm, and are commonly follow-
ed by the Dorados ; the Porpoifes appear when the
wind frefhens. The Tunnies have followed us con-
ftantly for fix weeks paft.

IF this detail has been tirefome to you,
what my pleafures muft have been. There are none
for a man, upon an element, with the inhabitants
of which he cannot connect himfclf,

MAY,

30 VOYAGE to tbe Isn OF FRANCS.

M A y, 1768.

THE i ft, at fun rife, the vefiel we had feen fome
days before, was in our wake, and gaining upon us
infenfibly ; at ten in the morning me was along fide
of us. We remarked, that all her fails were very old,
that the chefts and beds of the crew were upon deck.
They afked us in Englim, What cheer ? What's your
Jhip called? Where do you come from? Where are you
bound ? We anfwered in Englifh, and afked diem the
fame queftions. She came from London, fixty-four
days before -, and was bound for China. She was
pierced for twenty-four guns, and was of about five
hundred tons burthen. She wiflied us a good voyage,
and continued her way. Saw fome Frigate Bird*,
Tunnies, and Bonites.

THE 2d and 3d, again faw the Englifh mip,
which the Tunnies followed, after having borne us
company fo long. We had violent fqualls from the
Weft. Thefe variations, in my opinion, arife from
the neighbourhood of All Saints Bay ; and I believe
the currents and leeway me made by not anfwering
her helm, have carried her nearer to America * than
we were aware of.

THE /th and 5th, the wind was violent and change-
able. We faw a Fouquet, a bird that is black and
grey ; fome Frigate Birds and Boobies, that were div-
ing to catch fim.

THE 6th and yth, a good breeze and fine fea ; laft
night we had violent fqualls. We faw fome Frigate
Birds taking their courie to the N. E,

* The Abbe de la Caille fays, that in his Voyage to the Cape
of Gcod Hope, the (hip was constantly and confiderably to the
weftward of the Reckonings. 7".

VOYAGE to the ISLE or FRANCE. 31

THE 8th and 9th. Yefterday the wind was very
violent, and the fea very high. The fhip lay on her
fide, and the water came in at the ports. Towards
the evening the wind fell calm, which it commonly
does, when die fun gets in the quarter oppofite it.
We faw a great number of land birds and fome gulls,
figns that we were near land, from whence thdfe
fqualls arofe.

THE i4th, Calm. At nine in the evening-, as I
flood talking in the gallery with the captain, I faw
all the horizon enlightened by a very luminous fire,
.running from the Eaft to the North, and {hooting
forth red fparks. In the day-time the clouds flopped
and appeared like land to the Southward.

THE 1 4th, we had violent fqualls with forne thun-
der, Here the S. E, winds commonly end, but
fometimes they reach to twenty-eight degrees of lati-
tude. We now looked for the weiterly winds, witlj
which they double the Cape of Good Hope.

THE i/th, j 8th, and i9th, the weather was fine
although foggy •, we perceived a furge coming from
the Weft, which always precedes a wind from that
qvurter. Laft night we law a fecond luminous ap-
pearance, and in the afternoon a Whale to the S. W,
a league and a half from us. They imagined in the
morning, that they faw a fea fowl, called the Mouton
de Cap, or Cape Sheep, f This bird is found in the
Uiiruaes of the Cape of Good Hope. *

| Called by the Englifh, Albatroffe, Thfir wings, when ex-
tended, will meafure ten feet, fometimes more, and have one
more joint than the wings of other birds ; for this reafon, if thry
are put on their feet upon deck, they cannoc fly away, being ou-
ablfi to rife ; but from the water. T.

O B S E R-

32 VOYAGE to the -ISLE OF FRANCE;

OBSERVATIONS on the SKY, WINDS,
and BIRDS.

THE ftars to the Eaftward feem to be more lu-
minous than thofe to weftward. One may diftinguilh
befides the crofs of the fouth, the rnagellanick Con-
ftellation, which are two white clouds, formed by
multitudes of little ftars. One fide of which are feen
two fpaces more dark than the other parts of the
fky.

IN approaching the Line, the twilight decreafes
fo much, that the day is almoft entirely diflincT:
from the night. It is eafily explained, why the twi-
light increaies with the refraction of the rays toward
the poles. In thefe regions, fcarcely inhabited, light
is mingled with the darknefs, efpecially in the Aurora
Borealis, which in all places, is the greater, the lefs
the fun is elevated above the horizon. How very
inconvenient would it have been, had the night be-
tween the tropics partaken of day light. The night
feems made for the Blacks of Africa, who wait the
clofe of day, that they may dance and revel : 'Tis at
this time, that the wild beafts of thefe parts come to
refrefh themfelves in the rivers, and that the turtles
go on fhore to lay their eggs. Is there not then a
a fenfible heat in the rays of the fun, although refrac-
ted ? The torrid zone would have been uninhabitable,
had there been long twilights. In other refpects, the
night in thefe climates is finer than the day. The ri*
fmg moon difpels the vapours with which the air is
impregnated. I have fo often made this remark, that
I am of the failors opinion, who fay that the moon
fwallows up the clouds. On the other hand, can the

influence

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 53

influence of the moon upon our atmofphere be deni-
ed, when we allow it to have fo great a one upon the
ocean *.

Oi* this fide the Line, the winds in general arc
N. E. and on the other fide, S. E. Thefe winds ap-
pear to arife from the air being dilated by the fun,
a«d reflected by the poles. The S. E. winds extend
farther than the N. E. as may be feen by the journal
of winds. They are commonly met with in three or
four degrees of N. latitude. The S. pole is moreover
colder than the N* perhaps becaufe the fun is longer
on the northern fide. Navigators who have attempt-
ed to difcpver the fouthern continent, have found ice
in forty-five degrees -f,

THESE winds continually waft to America, the va-
pours railed by die fun from the Atlantic. Thole of
the South-Sea, ierve to fertilize a part of Afia and
Africa. The wind in general blows iiarder by day
than by night*

WITHOUT clouds there would be no rivers •, and
they do not contribute leis to the beauty of the He/a*
vens, than to the fruitfulnefs of the Earth,

I HAVE frequently admired the riling and fetting of
the fun : 'tis a fpeftacie not lefs difficult to djfcribe
than to paint. Figure to yourfclf the horizon of a
beautiful orange colour, tinged with green, which fts
it approaches to the zenith, k>fes iticlf in a lilach

* This is a part of natural philofophy which has been very lit-
tle attended to by the learned ; it is commonly faid, that ihe prin-
cipal changes of the weather, occur at the time of i,<nv and full
inoon ; and more particularly when (he is nearelt the earth. 7*.

f A"d forne have failed as far as 56deg. before they met with
ice. T.

D hue

34 VOYAGE to the ISL* OF FRANCS.

hue, while the reft of the iky is of a moil glorious
blue. The clouds floating to and fro of a clear pearl
coloured grey, fometimes difpofed in long ftreaks of
crimfon or fcarlet -, all the tints lively, diftin<5t, and

4 * *

bordered with a fringe of gold.

ONE evening the clouds to the weft ward, appear-
ed in the fhape of a vaft' net, like black (ilk. As
foon as the fun began to pafs behind it, each mafh of
the net looked as if it railed in a thread of gold. The
gold then changed into flame colour and fcarlet, and.
the deeper part of the fky was coloured with light
teints of purple, green, and Iky blue.

A STRANGE variety of landfcapes are frequently
formed in the fky, in which the moft uncouth figures
prefent themfelves to the imagination. We fee in
them, promontories, fteep and rugged rocks, towers,
and villages, over which the light diffuies all the co-
lours of the prifm. 'Tis to the brilliancy of their
colours we muft attribute the beauty of the birds of
India, and the mell-fifti of thefe feas j but why are
not the birds of the fea of thefe countries fo handfome
as ours ? I will referve the examination of this prob-
lem to another article •, and now defcribe to you thole
I faw flying about our fhip, with the names given
them by feafaring people. You may imagine that
this defcription cannot be a very accurate one,

THE bird moft commonly met with in all latitudes,
i* a fpecies of fwallow *, or halcyon, called by the

* Taken for the king's fifher, or a fpecies of it. Meige's dV-
fcription of the Alcyon, in his dictionary, differs totally from the
author's, and is as follows. " A fea-bird, that lays her eggs on
«' the fands — She is a little bigger than a Iparrow ; her fea:heri
" purpie, mixed with white ; her neck long and fmail ; her bill
" green, long, and fLnder." It is faid when (he lays, be the
fea never fo ftormy, it becomes prefently calm, until the young
be hatched and brought up, which is the fpace of forty days. 9

Englifh

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE^ 3^

Englifh, the foul-wearier bird> or petre?. It is of a
bkckim browrij fkims on the furface of the water,
and in bad weather follows the wake of the fhip. It
is probable that why it follows fhips at that time, is
to find a Ihelter from the wind ; for the fame reafon
it flies between the two furges in fkimming the water's

edge.
' \^-

A"s high ifp as Cape FiriiHerre" we faw forrie fea-
mews, the wings of which are bordered with black.
They are about the fize of a duck, and fly, fluttering
their wings, on the furface of the lea. They do not
fly far from land, whither they retire every evening.

WE faw the frigate-birds firft in 2 arid half deg.

O O

of N. latitude. They were thought to come front
the Ifland of Afcenfion, which is in 8 deg. S. lati-
tude. In form and fize, they are like a itork, are
black and white, have wings that extend a great way,
arid they have a long neck. The males have under
their bills, a pufF oi 1km, round as a ball, and red as
fcarlet. This is the lightclt of all fea-birds. It
never refts upon the water, yet is feen three hundred
leagues from land, whither, 'tis affirmed, that it re-
hinis ev-rry evening to rooft.

The booby is fomething larger, hut more Com-
pact. It is white, mingled with grey, and dives when
purfuing its prey, which is fifh. The point of its
beak hooks downwards, and the (ides of it are full
of little marp points, which affiftit in feizing its prey.
The frigate-bird is at War with the booby, which is
better furnimed with arms, although the former has
more fwiftnefs and cunning, When 'the booby has
filled its craw with filh, the frigate attacks it, and
makes it give up its fpoils, which it receives in t^e
air. .

D 2 THE

36 VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCO.

THE goelettes, are found in great flocks, de-
note fhallow water, and that the land is near.
They are white, and by their flight and lhape may
be taken for pigeons.

THE envergure * is a bird fomething bigger, of the
height of a large duck. It is white under the belly,
and of a greyilh brown on the wings and back. It
takes its name from the great extent of its wings.

THE damiers^ are found only near the Cape of Good
Hope. They are as big as pigeons, have a black
head and tail, a white belly, the back and wings
marked regularly with black and white, like the
checks of a draught-board.

AFTER the damiers we faw the mouton~de-cap -, 'tis
a bird fomething larger than a goofe, has a flefh-co-
loured beak, very extenfive wings, mixed with grey
and white. They are feldom found but in the lati-
tude of the Cape of Good Hope. I have feen all thefe
birds at reft upon the water except the frigate bird
and the envergure. The fight of them is an indica-
tion of the latitude, when we have been many days
without taking an obfervation, or when the currents
have made us lofe way in our longitude. It is to be
wiflied that able feamen would give the world their
obfervations hereon. Some fpecies do not go far
from the land, and rooft there every night. Goe'eites
feen out at fea, are figns of fome land, or broken
rocks being near •, but the mancbes-de-vel-ours^ orjca-
y are a certain token of its neighbourhood.

THERE are alfo fome fpecies of bladed grafs, or
floating alg<c^ which ihould be attended to. Thefe

* Not mentioned in the Encyclopedic -7*.

feveral

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 37

feveral notices may be of uf!', inftead of amethod which
is not yet discovered, of determining the longi-
tude. They make an obfervation of the varia-
tion morning and evening i but this is not to be
depended on. t)ne cannot every day fee the fun
rile and fet ; moreover the variation, which is
the declination of the needle, varies from one year
tQ another under tiic lame meridian.

D 3 J U fc £

3 8 VOYAGE to the ISLE oi FRANCE.

JUNE, 1768.

THE jit, me wefterly winds having announced
themfelves, we now hoped we fhoulu ib':u double
the Cape.

THE zd, the neceflary precautions for this -
pofe were taken. New cordage was put to the wheel
of the rudder, and fome additional ones to the
fhrouds, for fec.uring the mafts. We bent four new
fails. The boats, and all things that were moveable
on board, were ilrongly laflied. The v/ind v/as very
frcfh. We faw fbme birds, but the frigate* no longer
appeared.

The ^d, 4th, and 'th, — each day the wind WES
very frefh, except yefterday when it fubfided a little.
We faw every day a prodigious number of ^eleties^
uteutonsi w&damiers, and the Cape reed*, which re-
fembles the long trumpet uied by fhepherds. The
failors make a kind of trumpets of thefe hollow (talks.
The fea was covered with furf, another fign of our
being near the Cape. Fifteen men are rendered un-
fit for fervice by the fcurvy.

THE 7th at noon, a bird of the fjze of a goofe,
with fhort wings, tawny coloured and brown, a head
like a hen, a fhort tail, fhaped like a leaf of trefoil,
has fixed upon our mafts for fome time. By all the
bearings, we ought to find the Cape hereabouts.
Saw the fame birds.

THE 9th, diforders and dejection increafe in the
fhip. One of the mates died of the

* EngHfh fdilors call it trnok-weed. T.

•

THE

VOYAGE to tkt ISLF OF FRANCE. 39

THE 1 2th, as the fea appeared greenifh, we
founded, but found no bottom. The wind very
Erefh, and a great fea.

THE i3tk, we at length came into foundings of
ninety-five fathoms, a muddy and greenifh bottom.
This rejoiced us exceedingly. The great depth
convinced us that we had loft way to the weflward.
We faw two mips, one a-ftern, the other over our
itarboard cat-head. The foundings afcertain where
we are, but inform us, that we have mifreckoncd
above two hundred leagues in our journal.

THE 1 5th, blew frefh. The veiTel a-ftern hoifted
Englifh colours, and foon pafied by us at about
a league and a half to leeward. The other hoifted
French colours, and as fhe was before the wind, Ihe
lowered her fails in order to join us, bearing up as
near as fhe could. Our -captain did not think pro-
per -t© come to, i'h" proved to be the Digue rmn of
war, that failed a month before us. Towards even-
ing fhe hoiitxxl all her fails, and fleered in our coudV.

i/th, it proved calm. We faw fome wha!«.>
.2Jl4 dorados*

THE i#th in the morning we had a gale of wind,
that obliged us to remain till eleven at night under
our mizen. 7"here rofe at the: extremity of each wave
a white powder like the duft blown by the wind along
a road. At feyerj o'clock we fliip'ped a fea at the
great cabj^in windows. At eight o'clock it hailed,
and at midnight the weather grew fine.

THE 22d, the wind very frcfli and a rolling f\..
The opinion of the Ancients that the wither was
ralm durins; the folftice, was erroneous. 1 have thi-

O ,

D 4 afternooii

40 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRA::CZ.

afternoon read an obfervation in Dampier's voyages,
that the fun's diiappearing at about three in the after-
noon behind a range of high and thick clouds, is a.
fign of a violent itorm. Waen I went upon deck,
-the fky difcovered all thefe figns deicribed by
Pampier.

THE 23d, at half pad twelye in the night, a great
fea beat in four of the five great cabbin-windows,
though the dead-lights were barred like a St. An-
drew's crofs. The vefiel pitched, as if fae would
. have ilood an end in the water. Hearing the noife>
I opened the door of my chamber, which was in-
ftantly filled with water and the furniture that floated
about. The water ran out at the door of the great
cabbin like the iluice of mill j above., thirty hogflneads
of water came in by this accident. The carpenters
were called, lights were brought, and new boards
nailed againft the windows as quickly as pofUble.
"We now ran under a mizen, and the wind and fea
were truly "frightful.

THIS diforder was fcarcely put to rights, before
a large ch^eft that ferved for a table, full of fait and
bottles of champagne, broke its l.aihings. The roll-
ing of the mip threw it to and fro like a die. This
enormous box weighed many tons, and threatened us,
with being cruihed to pieces in pur rooms. At lait
it burit open, and the bottles rolling about and
breaking, cau;fed a confufion that is inexpreffible.
The carpenters returned, arid with the greateft dim\
culty replaced and fattened it.

THE rolling of the fhip not fuffering me to deep,
I lay down u'pon the bed in my boots and morning-
gown : my dog feemed in the greateft fright, arid,
while I amufecl myfeif with foothing him, I law a
fUfh of light'ning th'rougK the crevis of the porthole,

and

VOYAGE io tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 41

and heard it thunder. 'Twas about half paft three
in the morning. In a moment, a fecond clap of thun-
der broke, and the dog began to fly about and howl.
The light'ning flamed again in an inflant. Thunder
immediately iollowing, I heard 'em cry out upon
deck, that ibme fhip was in danger ; in fact the noife
was like the report of a cannon fired near us, as it
did not roll at all. Perceiving a flrong fmell of ful-
phur, I went upon deck, and immediately felt it
exceffively cold. Every thing was filentj and the
night fo dark, I could diitinguim nothing. I pre-
fently perceived fomebody near me, and afked, what
was the matter ? The man anfwered, " They arc
" carrying the Quarter-mafter to his birth ; he has
" fainted away, and fo has the Pilot. The thunder
<c has fallen upon the fliip, and fhivered the main-
" maft." Indeed, I found the main-top-fatl yard
was fallen upon the main-top. Neither maft nor
rigging appeared, the crew were all retired to the
Council-Chamber *.

THEY made a ring upon the fore-caftle. The
thunder had defcendecl fo lar along; the maft. A wo-

^j

man who had juft lain in, had feen a globe of fire at
the foot of her bed •, yet nobody could diicover any
{race of the fire. - Day light was looked for with im-
patience.

AT day break I again went upon deck. Some
very black clouds, appeared, and others of a copper
colour. The wind was weiterly, where the horizon
appeared of a flaming red, as if the fun was going to
nfc in that quarter. The Eaft was totally black.
The fea formed monftrous waves, that rofe like
pointed mountains, compofed of a number of fmaller
hills ; on their fummits were raifed fpouts of foam,

* There is no Council-Chamber in our EngJifh ftiipy, nor do I
know what par: is fo called by the French in theirs. T.

cojoure4

42 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

^coloured like To many rainbows. They were throwjj
fo high, as to appear from the quarter-deck, to be
fiigher than the tops. The wind made fo much
noife in the rigging, that we could fcarcely hear each
other fpeak. We ran before the wind under a mizen
only. A piece of the top-maft hung from the end
• of the main-maft, which was fplit in eight places to
a level -with the deck. Five of the iron rings with
which it was bound, were melted. The gangways
were covered with the broken pieces; of the top, and
main top-maft. At the' rifing of the fun, the wind
alfo rofe with a redoubled and inexpreflrble fury.
The fhip no longer to be guided by the helm, went
which way foever the wind or the waves drove her. The
mizen-fail having gibed its braces, broke foon after ;
the force with which it was continually ftriking againft
the maft, we feared would have broken the latter by
the board. In an inftant, the forecaftle was under
water. The waves broke over the larboard cat-head,
in fo much, that the bowfprit was not to be feen.
Clouds of furf inundated even as high as the poop.
The (hip, by not fleering, prefented her fide to the
waves, and at every roll took in water even to the
foot of the main-maft, and rofe again with the utmoflj
difficulty.

THE Captain in this moment of danger, called out
to the Pilots to put before the wind ; but the veflel
could not be in the leaft affected by the helm. He
ordered the failors to reef the mizen, which the wind
was carrying away piece-meal ; the poor fellows were
flickering themfelves under the quarter-deck, fome
crying, others fallen on their knees, and praying. I
crept along the larboard gangway, griping fail by the
tackling, and was followed by a Dominican who was
chaplain of the fhip, a pafienger, and by feveral of
the feamen, arid we ;i; kngth ditl rt.d" the fail, though

above

VOYAGE to the ISLE op FRANCE. 48

abovt half of it was carried away. They wanted to
have bent a ftay-fail, in order to put before the wind,
but it vvas torn like a Iheet of paper. ,

WE remained then like a log, rolling about in a
xnoft frightful manner ; having one time let go the
tackle I held by, I (lid as far as the foot of the main-
maft, where the water was up to my knees. In
fhort, next to God, we were indebted for our fafety,
t£> the Itrength of the Ihip, and to her having three
4~cks, without which ihe niuft have filled. Thus we
were toiled about till the evening, when the ftorm
abated. The moyeable furniture was almoft entirely
topfy-turvy, or broken to pieces : and I more than
once found myfelf upright on my feet upon the wain-
fcot of my cabbin,

SUCH was the tribute that we paid in the ftreights
.of Mozambique *. The paflage through which is
more dreaded by feamen, than doubling the Cape of
Good Hope. The Officers declared, they never faw
fo great a fea. All the upper works of the (hip were
fo (haken by it, that into the joints of the pilafters of
the great cabbin, I put mutton bones, which were
crufhed to pieces by the play of the timbers.

THE 24th, at four in the morning it fell calm, the
fea was (till very high. The people worked hard all
day, in bringing the main-yard to its right place, and
in fitting two fifties to (trengthen the main-maft. The
effects of the lightening are not to be defcribed. The

* In this ftrait the Aurora Frigate, with the Haft-India Super,
vilors on hoard, is fuppofecl to have been loll. The Portugueze
have a lar^e f ttlemeut at Mozambique, which is iituated on an
ifland in i^dtg. S. The (own is populous and well fortified ;
and the harbour kfe and commodious. T.

THE

44 VOYAGE to tbs ISLE OF FRANCE.

mainmaft is fplit in a zig-zag, five feet of the mad
immediately under the top, is fplintered, forward,
or towards the head of the fhip ; then five feet on
the afterfide, or towards the ftern, is fplintered •, and
fo five feet alternately, the whole length of the maft
to the deck •, fo that the found on the one fide, anfwers
to the mattered on the other. In thefe cracks I could
not perceive any fmell or blacknefs, the wood' being
of it's ufual colour.

WE faw forne Moutons de Cap. The weather
killed the- remains of our live ftock, and doubled the
number of men lick of the fcurvy.

THE 25th, was fpent in belaying and fattening the
two limes round the maft ; they were tv/o pieces of
timber, forty-five feet longv hollowed out in grooves,
to fit the circumference of the malt. Every man put
his hand to this work, on account of the fickly ftate
of the crew. A Whale paffed us, within piftol mot,
it was fcarcely the length of the long boat.

THE 26th, middling weather-, TV deum was fung
according to cuftom^ to thank God for having pafiecT
the Cape, and the Straits of Mozambique.

THE 2yth, we completed the maft fo far, that :t
would carry the main fail- One man died of the
fcurvy •, and twenty-one menwere rendered unfit fop
fervice by ficknefs.

THE 29th, a child of only eight days old died of
the fcurvy. There are now twenty-eight failors in
the Lazarette. To make out the watch, we have
been forced to take the domeitick fervants that are
on board, and alib the pa/Tengcrs, that are not of the
Great Cabbin.

THE

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 45

THE 3Oth, our uneafmefs was encreafed, by the
melancholy condition of the crew. Here the wefterly
winds are at an end. We keep in a high latitude,
that we may have the S. W. winds which blow cort-
itantly hereabouts, and endeavour to keep to wind-
ward of the iiland of Rodorigue, to make the I fie
of France with the greater certainty.

OBSERVATIONS that might be of ufc for
the better Government of Seamen.

THERE did not feem to me to be a proper
fubordination among the officers ; the fuperiors are
afraid of the interelt of their inferiors. The chief
part of thefe appointments being obtained by favour,
I do not think that an authority can be eitablifhed
among them as it ought to be ^ and the evil being
dependent upon the manners of the perfons concern-
ed, is, in my opinion, without remedy.

No mip mould flay more than three months at fea,
without going into port. The failors have not water
enough for a longer trip, in thefe hot climates ^
being frequently reduced to half-a-pint a day. Could,
not that part of the mip, where the ballaft is put, be
divided into leaden citterns and filled with frefh
water •, or could not fome kind of wax or maflic be
found out, with which the cafks might be done over
to prevent the water from corrupting. It is fome*
times fo much tainted, and fo full of worms, as to be
really intolerable.

As for the (alt water, that is rendered frem by a
machine, it is not thought wholefome : befides, a
great deal of fea-cpal muft be taken on board, which

occupies

46 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANC;.:

occupies too much room, and is fubjeft to take fire ;
and the additional dangerous inconvenience of keep-
ing a Furnace burning night and day.*

THE feamen are very ill victualled ; their bifcuit
is full of worms ; the fait beef, in a fhort time, be-
comes both a difagreeable and unwholefome food.
Could not provifions be drefTed and preferved in fat,
The Great Cabbin was ferved with meat fo prepared,
which kept as well as the faked beef.

WHEN on fhore, the failors will fpend as mucft
money in a week, as they have been a year in earning.
1 mould think each man might be provided with
proper cloathirig, which they mould be obliged to
take care of, by the frequent reviews of its corrdition
by proper officers. Such a precaution would cer-
tainly, in fome degree, preven-t their extravagance.
Several other regulations might be thought of, which
properly attended to by the officer?, would tend
much to their cleanlinefs and decent appearance.
The major part of thefe poor fellows need always be?
under a tutor.

* Experience has fliewn, that Dr. Irvia's method is of great
Utility. T,

JULY,

VOYAGE to tie IstE OF FRANCA. 47

J U L Y, 1768.

THE 3^ Tills evening one of the carpenters
died of the fcurvy ; forty people are now ill of it>
and it makes a fenfibie progrefs, owing to the ex-
halations from the hold filled with mafts, that have
for a long time been layng in mud.

THE 9th, one of the failors upon the watch died
fuddenly. We have all been very faint and- w,eak to-
day •, fome have had vertigoes and ficknefs at their
ftomachs. We are, notwithitanding, more than one
hundred leagues to windward of any known land.

THE nth, fair wind; fixty-fix of the men are
now fick in their beds -, if we mould remain eight
days logger at fea, we muft infallibly perifh.

THE 1 2th, fine weather and fea ', there are no more
than three foremaft men to each watch j the officers
and pafiengers help to work the fliip.

THE i jth, at half paft eight this morning, lan<J
appeared. We are fo caft down, that the news re*
joices*no body. Eighty meji are now ill with the
diftemper.

THE i4tlj, on approaching the land, many of the
people found themfelves fick. I felt uneafmefs all over
me, and fweated abundantly. We hoiiled the colours
and fired guns for aOiitance ; bur s. pilot alone came
on board. He told us of the. differences among the
chief people, of the ifland, about which, J fuppofe,
he thought us very anxious : on the other hand,
many of the people on board weje of opinion, that

the

48 VOYAGE to the ISLE of FRANCE.

the complaints and miferies we had laboured under,
would be a matter of great concern to the inhabitants
on more.

WE prefently left to our right, two fmall inhabited
iflands, called Round liland, and the Ifle of Serpents :
we next paffed within gun-mot of Coin de Mire^ ano-
ther ifland on the left. We kept at a good diftance
from the more, on account of the ihoal, at Point aux
Cannoniers.

At half paft one, in the afternoon, we entered the
harbour-, two hours after, I landed, thanking God
for having delivered me from the dangers and fatigues
of fo dreadful a voyage.

We were at fea four months and twelve days, with-
out touching at any port. According to my journal,
we have failed about three thoufand eight hundred
marine, or four thoufand feven hundred common
leagues : and have loft eleven perfons, including the
three men carried away by the fea$ and one who died
as he was going afhore.

OBSERVATIONS on the SCtTRVY,

THE fcurvy is occafloned by the bad quality of
the air and of the provifions. The officers, who
are better fed and better lodged than the failors, are
the laft attacked by this diforder, which arFefts
even the animals on board : my dog was very much
troubled with it. There is no abiolute cure for it,
but the air of the land and the uie of frefh vegetables,
although there are fome palliatives which may mo-
derate it's effects j as the uie of rice, acid liquors,

coffee,

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 49

coffee, and abftinence from all faked provifions.
Great virtues are attributed to the ufe of turtle, but
like other prejudices, this is adopted by feamen upon
flight grounds only. At the Cape of Good Hope,
where there are no turtles, the fcurvy is cured as
quickly as in the hofpital at the Ifle of France, where
the patient is fed with broths of this animal. On
our arrival, almoft every body ufed this remedy ;
but not being fond of turtle, I did not eat of it, but
of frefh vegetables ; I was well before any of them.

THE fcurvy's firft fymptoms is a general laffitude \
the fick perfon v/iihes for reft, is uneafy in his mind,
and difguded with every thing •, all day long he is
in difqui^t, and is only relieved from it by the night :
it's next, are red fpots on his breaft and legs, and
bleeding ulcers in the gums. There are frequently
no external fymptoms •, but, if a man gets the flighteil
wound imaginable, it is incurable, while at fea ; and
makes the moil rapid progrels. I myfelf had a very
flight wound at the end of -my finger •, in three weeks
the fore had taken off the fkin entirely ; and not-
withstanding all the remedies that were applied, ex-
tended itielf to my hand. A few days after my
landing, it healed of itfelf. Before the fick were
landed, they took care to expofe them for a whole
day to the air from the {hore. Notwithftanding thefe
precautions, it coil one-man his life, who was not able
to bear the change.

I CANNOT defcribe to you the miferable fituatiort
we were in at our arrival. Figure to yourfelf a fhip,
with it's main maft mattered to pieces by light'ning,
with a waft upon it's enfign, and firing minute-guns
us fignals of diftreis ; failors more like ipec~bes than
men, fitting upon deck ; the fcuttles all open and
emitting a vapour that infed-xl the air j the ibrecaitle

E and

50 VOYAGE to the IsU OF FRANCE.

and poop covered with fick men, expofed there for
the benefit of the fun, and who died even while
fpeaking to us. I mall never forget a lad of eighteen
years old, to whom I had promifed fome lemonade
the evening before. I was leeking for him among
the reft, when they fhewed him to me, lying dead in
the cook-room.

LETTER V.

NAUTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

BEFORE I give yoti an account of the Ifle of
France, I mail add to my journal the obferva-
tions of the moft able feamen upon the voyage we
have made.

REGULAR as the trade winds are in general, they
are, notwithftanding, variable along the coaft, and
in the neighbourhood of iflands.

A BREEZE blows off the land almoft every night,
along the mores of the great continents. This wind
blowing in a different direction from the fea breeze,
brings the clouds together into one long motionlefs
range, which veffels rarely fail feeing as they ap-
proach the land.

NEAR the coafts, it is in general, ftormy, efpe-
cially in the neighbourhod of iflands. The winds

in

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 51

in thcfe parts vary much. At the Canaries* the S.
and S. E. winds blow fometimes for eight days fuc-
cefllvely.

THE trade winds are firft met with, about twenty-
eight degrees North latitude •, but they feldom con-
tinue fo far as die Line. An experienced feaman has
given me the following account of the ceafmg of the
trade winds, which he has with much labour collecl:-
ed from more than two hundred and fifty journals of
this voyage :

In January, between the 6th and 4th degrees, of

North latitude.

In February, between the 5th and ^d degrees.
In March and April, between the 5th and 2d degrees.
In May, between the 6th and 4th degrees.
In June, in the icth degree.
In July, in the i2th degree.
In Auguft and September, between the i4th and 1 3th

. degrees.

And during the months of Odober, November, and
December, they blow as far as the Line.*

-f BETWEEN the trade and the general winds, by
which is meant the trade winds Ibuthward of the
Line, the wind is variable and ftormy. The general
winds extend much farther than the trade ; they reach
as far as twenty-eight degrees fouth. Beyond which

* The fou-hern trade wind hss been known to blow farther
north than the Line; and the northern, at other times, to bs ex-
tended to the fjuthward of the Line ; but this rarely happens. T.

•f B Varenius, in his Geograpbia Generalis, gives a particular
account of the winds, (cap. 20. and 21.) and of the variation of
the needle, (cap. 38.) — and in the appendix prefixed by Sir Ifaac
Newton, and Dr. Juri*, to the edition they publifhed in 1712,
(page 31 and 49 ) are colle&ed Dr. Hai'ty'* oblervations upon tl.c
lame lubjects. T.

E 2 latitude

$2 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

latitude the winds vary more than in the Teas of
Europe j and the higher the latitude the more violent
they are ; blowing generally from the N. to N. W.;
and from the N. W. to the S. S. W. — when they
get round to the S. a calm fucceeds.

NEAR the Cape of Good Hope, S. E. and E. S. E.
winds are frequently met with. It is a general
maxim to keep to the windward of the place intended
to be made ; yet not too much fo, as the fhip would
make too much leeway. It is belt to crofs the Line
as much to the Eaftward as poflible.

If a fhip is in want of provifions, fhe may be bet-
ter fupplied at the Cape de Verd I (lands than at Brafil,
where they are very dear ; befides that, the air of the
place is very unwholfome. Turtle is catched in
great plenty at the ifland of Triitan d'Aconia, but
water is hard to be got, on account of the trees,
which grow in the fea.

IT is dangerous to put in at the Cape of Good Hope
from April to September ; but the anchorage is per-
fectly fafe at Fatfe-bay^ which is very little diftant.
If a veflel mifles the I fie of France, it may put in at
Madagafcar, at Port Dauphin, or Bay of Antongil ;
but there are dangerous epidemical diftempers, and
hurricanes on that coaft, which lail from October
till May.

RETURNING to Europe, there is St. Helena, an
Englifh fettlement; and the ifland of Afcenfion,
where, however, nothing can be got but turtle. In
time of war, the two iflands are commonly cruizing
Rations, all Ihips from the other fide of the Cape
endeavour to make them, in order to ascertain their
route.

THE

VOYAGE to tie ISLE or FRANCE. 53

THE charts moft in repute are Monfieur Dapre's ;
bailors are alfo much indebted to the learned and
modefl Abbe de Caille. But the geography of thefe
parts is yet very imperfect. The longitude of the
Canaries, and of the Cape de Verd iflands, is not
well laid down. Between Cape Blanco and Cape
Verd, the chart fays, there are thirty-nine leagues
difference, although there really are not twenty.

A SHOAL is fufpefted to be at about twenty minutes
South of the Line, and about twenty-three degrees
ten minutes longitude: in 1764, two French mips
touched the bottom.

SEAMEN are liable to be led into great errors by
the currents. I am of opinion, that nothing certain
relative to them can be determined upon, 'till a
method is difcovered, of afcertaining the quantity of
a fhip's leeway : even the angle me forms with her
Wake, will not lead to a decifion of this matter ; be-
caufe the fhip and her trace have one caufe, th*
fhip's motion.

THE hardinefs of the navigators, who firft made
thefe voyages, without experience and without charts,
cannot be fufficiently admired. Thofe of the prefent
day have much more information, and lefs refolution.
Navigation is become a mere routine. Ships fail at
a particular feafon, make the fame places, and fleer
the fame courfes. It were to be wilhed, that fome
vefiels might be Hiked in making difcoveries, that
might aflure the fafety of others.

LETTER

54 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

LETTER VI.

THE Ifle of France was difcovered by a Por-
tugueze, of the family of Mafcarenhas,- who
called it Ifle de Cerm. It was afterwards pofleffed by
the Dutch, who gave it the name of Mauritius. They
abandoned it in 1712, and foon after the French,
inhabitants of the Ifle of Bourbon, which is only forty
leagues diftant, came and fettled themfelves there.

THERE are two ports in this ifland ; that on the
S. E. where the Dutch fettlement was, and where
remains of their buildings are Hill feen, is the prin-
cipal port. It may be entered before the wind ; but
it is difficult to get out of it : the winds being almoft
ever at S. E.

THE fmaller port, or Port Louis, is to the N. W.
a Ihip may go in or out of it, large, before the wind.
It's latitude is twenty degrees ten minutes S, and it's
longitude, from the meridian of Paris, fifty-five de-
grees E. This is the capital of the ifland, 'though
fituated in the moft dhagreeable part of it. ' The
town, called alfo the Camp, and which has fcarcely
the appearance' of a market town, is built at the
bottom of the port, and at the opening 'of a valley,
which is about three quarters of a league' long, and
eight hundred or a 'thoufand yards wide.* This
valley is formed by a chain of high mountains,
covered with rocks •, but without trees or biifhes.
The fides of thefe mountains are covered fix months
in the^ydar, with a burning herb, which makes the

country;

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 55

country appear black, like a colliery. The edge of
the rocks, whip h form this difmal vale, is broken
and craggy. The higheit part is at the extremity,
and terminates in a rock, ftanding by itfelf, which
they call the Pouce. This part, hbwever? has a few
trees •, and there iffues from it a rivulet, which runs
through the town ; but the water is not good to
drink.

As for the town or camp, it confifts of wooden
houfes of one ftory high -, each houfe ftands by itfelf,
and is inclofcd in pallifa:ks. The ftreets are regular
enough, but are neither paved nor planted with
trees. The ground is every where fo covered, and
as it were ftaked with rocks, that there is no ftirring
without danger of breaking one's neck. The town
is neither walled nor fortified in the leaft, except
that on the left, when looking to the fea, there is
a fort of intrenchment of {tone, reaching frorn the
mountain to the harbour ; on this fame fide is Fort-
Blanc, that defends its entrance ; on the other fide
is a battery upon the Ifle of Tonnslkers.

According, to the meafurement of the Abbe de
Caille, the Ille of France is ninety thoul'and, fix hun-
dred and fixty-eight fathoms in ' circumference ; it's
greateft diameter is thirty-one thoufand, eight hun-
dred and ninety fathoms from N. to S. -y and twenty-
two thoufand, one hundred and twenty-four from
E. to W. •, its fuperficial content is four hundred
thirty-two thoufand, fix hundred and eighty acres,
of one hundred perches the acre^ and twenty feet
the perch.

THE N. W. part of the ifland is apparently-

and the S. W. covered with ridges of mountains,

from three hundred to three hundred and fifty fathom

E 4 high,

56 VOYAGE to the ISLE of FRANCE.

Jiigh. The higheft of all is four hundred and twenty-
jbur fathom, and ftands at the mouth of the river
Noire, The moft remarkable, called Pieterboth^ is
four hundred and twenty toifes high ; it is terminated
by an obelifk, which is 'again covered with a cubical
rock, upon which no perfon has ever yet been. At
a diftance, this pyramid and it's capital, refemble
the ftatue of a woman.

THE ifland is watered by above fixty rivulets, fomc
of which have no water in the dry feafon, efpecially
fmce fo much timber has been cut down. The in-
terior part of the ifland is full of ponds, and in this
part it rains nearly all the year round, the clouds
being flopped by the mountains, and the woods at
the top of them.

I CANNOT give you a more perfect account of a
place in which I am but juft arrived. I expert to
pafs a few days in the country, and will endeavour
to defcribe to you what relates to the foil of this
ifland, before I fpeak of it's inhabitants.

PORT Louis,
Aug. 6, 1768,

LET,

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 57
LETTER VII.

Of the Soil and natural Productions of the ISLE of
FRANCE.

EVERY thing here differs from what is feen hi
Europe, even the herbage of the country. To
begin with the foil : It is almoft every where of a reddilh
colour, and mixed with veins of iron, which are fre-
quently found near the furface, in the form of grains,
the lize of a pea. In the drier parts, efpecially near
the town, the ground is very hard. It refembles
pipe-clay, and to make trenches in it, I have feen
them cut it with axes, as they do lead. As foon as
it rajns, it becomes foft and tenacious ; notwith-
ftanding they have not yet been able to make it into
bricks.

THERE is no real fand in the foil. That which is
found on the more, is compofed of fragments of
madrepores and fhells, which will calcine in the fire.

THE ground is almoft every where covered with
rocks, from the fize of one's fift to a ton weight. They
are full of holes, the bottom of which is in the form
of a lentil.

MANY of thefe rocks are formed of concentrical
laminae, like an onion. Some of them are in large
mafles, that adhere together. Others feem as if they
had been broken, and were again joined together.
The ifland is in a manner paved with thefe rocks,
and the mountains are formed entirely of thefe ftrata,
jyhich are oblique to the horizon, although parallel

to

58 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

to each other. They are of an iron grey colour, vi-
trify in the fire, and contain a great deal of iron ore.
1 faw at the foundry, fome grains of beautiful copper
and lead, that were taken from fome of the fiifures
in the rocks, but in a very fmall quantity. Expe-
riments of this nature afford no encouragement here,
The mineral appears to be too much dilperfed. In
the broken pieces of thefe ftones, there are little ca-
vities criitalized, fome of which contain a down *y
that is white and very fine.

I KNOW only of three fpecies of herbs or gramen,
that are natural to the foil,

ALONG the fea-fhore is found a fort of turf, that
grows in beds, very thick and elaftic. Its leaf is
very fmall, and fo fharp pointed, as to prick through
one's clothes. • The cattle will not touch it.

IN the hotteft part of the ifland, the paftures are
of a. kind of dog's grafs, which fpreads much upon
the ground, and puts out little branches from the
joints. This herb is very hard. The oxen like it
very well, if not too dry.

THE bed herb grows in the airy and windward fide
of the ifiand. *Tis a gramen, with large leaves, ancj
is green* and. tender all the year.

THE other fpecies of herbs and fhrubs that are
known, are, a plant that yields for fruit, a hulk fil-
led with a-kind of iiik, of which an advantageous ufe
might be nude.

A KIND of afparagus, prickly, and that grows,
above twelve feet high, round the trees, as the bram-

* Probably a fpecies cf the Affceftqs. T*

bb

VQYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 59

ble or briar. Jt is not yet known whether this is
good to cat.

A kind of mallow fhrub with fmall leaves, that
crows in the paths, and fides of the roads. There
is alfo a kind of thiflle with yellow flowers, the
feeds of which kill the birds that eat them •, and a
plant that is like the lilly, bearing long leaves.
It grows in marfhy ground, and has a flower of a

grateful fmell.
>j

UPON walls, and by the fides of the roads I found
fome tufts of a plant, whole flower refembles the
plain red July-flower •, It has a bad fmell, and this
angular property, that only one flower flourifhes up-
on each branch at one time.

AT the foot of the neighbouring mountains, there
grows a fweet bafil, the fmell of it is like that of a
July-flower. Its flalk is ligneous. It is of a healing
quality.

THE Raguettes, of which they here make very
dangerous hedges, bear a yellow flower, marbled
with red. This plant is ftuck full of very fharp
prickles, that grow upon the leaves ; and alfo upon
the fruit. The leaves are very thick. The fruit is
never ufed, and is of a four tafte.

THE Veloutier grows upon the fand on the fea-
fhore. Its branches have a down upon them, like
that of velvet. The leaves are entirely covered with
glittering filaments. It bears flowers in clufters.
This fhrub exhales an odour, that at a diftance is
agreeable, 'lefs fo when you draw near, and when
quite clofe is perfectly loathfome.

THERE

I

60 VOYAGE to tbe ISLE OF F

THERE is a kind of plant, half bramble, half ih rub,
that produces in pods, briftled with prickles, a fort
of nut, very fmooth and hard, of a pearl colour
grey, and the fize of a mufquet-ball. Its kernel is
very bitter. Thefe nuts are good for the venereal
difeafe.

In the parts of the ifland that are cleared, there
grows a great number of a kind of (hrub, that has
large leaves, in the fhape of a heart. Its fmell is
iweet enough, and like that of balm> whofe name it
bears. I Jtnow of no ufe made of it, except in
baths.

ANOTHER plant equally ufelefs,is thefalfe potatoe,
which grows twining along the fea-fide. It fpreads
on the ground ilke the liferon. Its flowers are red,
and like a bell. It thrives in the (and.

UPON the borders of the wood's is found a ligneous
herb called, Pannier-grajs *. They have attemptnd
to make thread and cloth of it, which is not bad.
Its leaves are fmall. Taken in barley-water, they
are good for complaints in the breaft.

THERE is a great variety of fhrubs all comprized
under the general name of -f liannes^ fome of which are
as thick as a man's leg, and grow round the trees,
making the trunks look like a mail furnimed with rig-
ging. They, however, fupport the trees againft the
hurricanes, of whofe violence I have feen frequent
proofs. When they fell timber in the woods, they
cut about two hundred trees near the root, which re-
main upright till the liannesy which hold them, are
cmt down alfo. When this is done, one whole part
of the foreft feerns to fall at once, making a moft

* Hwbe a pannier. T. * A Rattan, or Supple Jack. 7*.

horrid

VOYAGE to tit ISLE OF ERANCE. 6f

horrid crafh. Cords are made of their bark, ftronger
than of hemp.

There are many flarubs which bear a flower like
that of the box-tree.

A PRICKLY and fpungy fhrub, with a red flower,
in a hoop, and fcolloped. Its leaf is large and round.
The fifhermen ufe the ftaik of it (which is very light)
inftead of cork.

ANOTHER flirub, which is a very pretty one, call-
ed, -f bois-de-demoifelle. Its leaf is fcolloped at the
edge, like that of the am, and its branches ornament-
ed with fmall red feeds.

BEFORE I proceed, you will obferve, that I know
nothing of botany. I defcribc tilings as I fee them ^
but if you will rely upon my opinion, I declare to
you, that I think every thing inferior to the produc-
tions of Europe.

THE meadows do not produce a Tingle flower, but
are entirely covered with fmall itones, and overgrown
with an herb as hard, and as tough as hemp. No
plant bears flowers of a pleafant fmell, nor is any
flirub in the I Hand to be compared to our white
thorn. The liannes have not the fragrancy of the
honeyfuckle or ivy. Not one violet in all the woods,
As to the trees, they have large whitifli trunks, that
are bare, except a little kind of nofegay of leaves of
a dull green. I will defcribe them in my next letter.

PORT-LOUIS, ISLE-QF-FRANCE, Sept. i$tht 1768.
f Lady's Wood.

VOYAGE to tbc ISLE OF FRANCE.

LETTER VIII.

SOME days ago I perceived a large tree in the
middle of fome rocks, and being defirous of cut-
ting a piece with my knife, was furprized at the whole
blade entering without my ufmg the leaft force. It
was of a fubftance like a turnip, and of a very difagree-
able tafte ; for fome hours after, (although I did not
fwallow any part of it) my throat was much enflam-
ed, and felt as if pricked by pins. This tree is called
mapou, and is looked upon as poifonous.

THE trees of this country take their names in ge-
neral, from the fancy or caprice of the inhabitants.

THE bois-de-canetk^ which is not like the real cin-
namon-tree, is one of the largeft in the ifland. It is
the beft I have feen for joiner's work, and refembles
walnut-tree, both in colour and veins. When it is
worked green, it fmells like human excrement, and
like the bloffoms of the real cinnamon. This is the
only refemblance I could perceive between them.
The feed of it is inveloped in a red ikin, which has
an acid, yet not a difagreeable tafte.

The (linking- wood, defervedly fo called from its
horrid finell, is very good for carpenter's ufe.

THE iron-wood, its trunk feems blended with the
roots, and moots up in a kind of ribs or fpars, like
fo many boards. It turns the edge of the axe that
fells it.

THE

VOYAGE to tie ISLE of FRANCE, 6}

THE ebony- wood ; its leaves are large, the lower
fide white, the upper of a dingy green. The center
only of this tree is black, the lap and the bark being
white. In a trunk, from which may be cut a timber
fix inches fquare, there is frequently no more of re.il
ebony, than two inches fquare. This wood, if
worked while green, imells like human excrement,
and its flowers like the July- flower -, the very reverie
of the cinnamon, whole flowers are (linking, and the
wood and bark of a pleafant fmell. The ebony bears
a fruit like a medlar, full of vifcous juice, that is
iweet and pleafant taited.

THERE is another fort of ebony here, veined with
black.

THE citron-tree bears fruit in cool and damp places
only •, the citrons are frnall, but full of juice.

THE orange-tree alfo thrives in a foil of this kind,
its fruit is bitter and (harp-tailed. Many of them
grow m the neighbourhood of the Great-Port -, yet I
doubt if thefe two fpecies are natural to the iiland.
The fweet orange is very rare, even in gardens.

THERE is found here, but rarely, a fpecies of the
fandal-wood. Somebody gave me a piece of it, which
was of a greyifli white. It had a faint fmell.

THE vacoa, is a kind of fmall palm-tree, whole
leaves grow fpirally round the trunk ; they, make
mats and bags of them.

THJS latame*, is a large kind of palm-tree, it bears
at the top, one leaf only, in the fhape of a fan, with
which they cover their houfes.

THE

64 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

THE palm-tree rifes in the foreft above all the othef
trees. It bears at the head a clufter of palms, whence
there iffues a fhoot, which is all this tree affords fit to
be eaten -, and to get at this, the tree muft be cut
down. This fhoot, which they call the cabbage, is
formed of young leaves, rolled one over the other,
very tender, and of a very pleafant tafte.

The manglitr, or mangrove*, grows entirely in the
fea. Its roots and branches creep along, and inter-
weave themfelves in the fand, fo that it is impoffible
to pull them up. Its wood is red, and ftains of an
ugly colour.

I TOOK notice that the greater part of thefe trees
have but a very thin bark, fome of them even have
nothing but a fort of Ikin over them, differing widely
from the trees in the North, which nature has fur-
nimed with a variety of coats, to protect them from
the cold. Moil of them have their roots upon the
furface of the earth, and twirl round the rocks as
they fhoot up. They are but fhort •, their heads lit-
tle, furnimed with leaves, and are very heavy ; which
with the liannes that grow round them, is their only
fupport againft the hurricanes, which would elfe pre-
fently tear up the firs and chefnuts.

As to the ufes they are fit for, none can compare
for durability and folidity to the oak, to the elm for
pliancy, to the fir for the lightnels and length of its
timber^ or to the chefnut for its uiefulnefs in general.
Their foliage has . the fame dilagreeable quality as is

* The mangrove is alfo called paletu<vicr ; its wood is very
proper for building, and of its bark, the people in fome part of
ihe Eaft-Indtes make clothes. The elephants are extremely fond
of the young leave* of tiiis tsce, and eat thtra with avidity. 7.

com-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 65

common to every tree, whofe leaves laft the year round,
being hard, and of an ugly dark green. Their wood
is heavy, brittle, and eaiily rots. Thofe that in other
rdfpects are fit for cabinet-work, foon turn black,
when expofed to the air, which gives their furniaire
a very difagreeable look.

ALONG the margins of the rivulets which flow
through the woods, are the moft pleafmg retreats
imaginable. The waters run through the midil of
the rocks ; in one part gliding along in iilence, —
in another, falling precipitately from a height, with
a confufed and murmuring noife, The borders of
thefe ravines are covered with trees, from which hang
large bunches of * Scolopcndria, and Liannes^ which
falling down, are iufpended by their own twigs.
The ground about them is rugged, with great pie-
ces ot black rock, overgrown with mois and maiden-
hair. Largs trunks over thrown by the hand of time,
lay, covered with fungus, waved with various co-
lours.

FERN grows here in infinite variety. Some, like
leaves feparated from the ftem, meander among the
Hones, and draw their fubftance from the rock it-
felf. Others fpring up like a tree of-mofs, and
rcfemble a plume of fil&en feathers. The common
fort is of twice the fize here, that it is in Europe.
In lieu of the groves, and reeds, which ib beauti-
fully variegate the borders of our rivers, along the
fides of thefe torrents, grow a kind of watcr-iillies,

* Splen*utortt or hurt ft on gut, a medicinal herb, Pliny fays, it
\v:is caMed in his time Sfo opendria, U*ga« etrvin.9, orAjpLn .r. There
ia a li-h, and alfo an infedt, culled $col(,pendria, h th ot which were
railed by the Ancients miiliptda, and the Italians now caU chfm

n

66 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

in great abundance, with very large leaves, in the'
form of a heart* They are called Songes. It will
float upon the water without being wet, and the
drops of rain amafs together upon it, like globules
of mining filver. Its root is an onion, of a malig-
nant quality. 'Tis diftinguifhed into the black, and
the white.

NEVER were thefe favage defarts enlivened by the
fongs of birds, nor have they ever feen reluctant
maid with downcaft eye, and lift'ning ear attend to
the fond lover's tale. The ear is fometimes grated by
the croaking of the perroquets, or pierced by the
mrill cry of fome malicious monkey.

YET, notwithftanding the barrennefs of the foil,
even thefe rocks might be habitable, if the Euro-
peans had not brought hither more and greater
evils, than Nature herlelf, has heaped upon it.

The PORT, OHcber 8, 1768.

LET-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 67

LETTER ix.

'Of the ANIMALS natural to the ISLE OF
FRANCE.

THE Monkey a? Madagafcar, called Maki, does
not in the leaft referable thole of this Ifland ;
fior the Baboons of the Cape of Good- Hope.

THE Monkey of the Ifle of France, is of a mid-
dling lize. It is of a reddifh grey cad, and has a
long tail. This animal is fond of fociety. I have
feen them in troops of fixty at a time. They fre-
quently come in droves, and pillage the houfes.
Scouts are placed -on the tops of trees, and the points
of the rocks, who as foon as they fee any dogs or
hunters approach, cry out, to alarm the others, who
immediately decamp. They will climb up the deep-
ed mountain, and reft upon the flighted edge of a
precipice, where no 'other quadruped of its fize dare
venture. Thus Nature, which has covered even the
holes of the rock-; with herbage, has alfo created Be-
ings to enjoy the benefit of it.

THE Rat feems a native of this ifland. There are
prodigious numbers of them •, and it is faid, that the
place was abandoned by the Dutch, becauie of this
cK-ature. In ibme houies they aic io numerous, that

F 2 30,000

68 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

30000 * are killed in a year. They make large
hoards under ground, both of corn and of fruits,
and climb up to the tops of the trees to eat the young
birds. They will pierce the very thickeft rafters.
One may fee them at fun-fet, running about in all
parts, and in one night they will deftroy an entire
crop. I have feen a field of maize, in which they
have not left one fingle ear. They are exaftly like
the rats of Europe, and have, very pofiibly, come
from thence in mips.

MICE are very common here j the havock they
make is incredible.

IT is faid, that there were formerly a great many
Flamingos ; this is a large and beautiful fea-fowl, of
a rofe- colour -y they fay alfo, that three of them yet
remain, but I never faw them.

MANY Corligeaux fly about, and are reckoned the
beft game the ifland produces ; but are difficult to
moot.

THERE are Paillencus of two forts, the one of
white, like (ilver, the other having the beak, claws,,
and the tail red. Although this is a fea-bird, it
builds its neft in the woods. Its name is not at all
fuited to its extraordinary beauty. The Engliih more

* This number may appear improbable, and I fliould have
been inclined to think the Author misinformed, had I not been
told by a Gentleman, upon whofe veracity 1 can depend, that
upon his return from the Havanna in the year 1766, in t.-.e Vali-
ant man of war, the rats increafed to fuch a degree, as to
dellroy a hundred weight of bifcuit a day. The fhip was at
length fmoked between decksj in order to fuffbcate them. This
had the defired effect, and fix hampers were filled daily for fome
time with the rats killed by this means. '7".

properly

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 69

properly call it the 'Tropic Bird. It keeps near thff
fea, and is not intimidated at the fight of man.

TURTLES uied frequently to be found on the more,
but now rarely. Their flefh is like beef ; the fat
green, and well tailed.

I HAVE feen many forts of Parrots, but none very
hancjfome. There is a fpecies of green Perrcquets,
with a grey head. They are as large as fparrows.
It is impoflible to tame them. Theie alfo are ene-
mies to the harveft, but they are very good to eat.

IN the woods are found black-birds, which when
called to by a fportfman, will come to the end of his,
gun. This is a kind of game miich in requelt.

THERE is a pigeon called the Dutch-Pigeon, of a
moft magnificent plumage •, and another fort, which
although, of a very pleatant tafbe, are fo dangerous,
that thofe who eat them are thrown into convulfions.

Two forts of Bats -are found here ; one like ours,
the other as big as a fmall cat, very fat ; and is eaten
-by the inhabitants as a rarity.

THERE is a fpecious of fparrow-hawk, called th<*
Chicken-eater ; it is alfo faid to eat grajsboppers.

THE fea- fide is full of holes, in which lodge a
great number of Toulouroux, they are a kind of am-
phibious crab, and make burroughs under ground
Jike moles. They run very faft ; and if you attempt
to catch them, they map, their claws, and prefent
their points, by way of menace.

F 3 ANOTHER

70 VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRAN.

^ ANOTHER amphibious and very extraordinary crea-
ture, is the Bernard V Her mite, a kind of loblter,
whole hinder part is not provided with a Ihell ; but
it inftinctivly lodges itfclf in empty fhcils, which it
finds upon the fhore. One may fee them run alon*
in great numbers, each with its houfe after it, which
it abandons for a larger when its growth makes it
neceflliry'.

THE moft destructive infects on. this ifland, are the
gr af shoppers. I have feen them light upon a field,
like a fall of fnow, and lay upon the ground feveraj
inches deep. They will eat up the verdure in the
Gourfe of one night. This is the moft dreaded; ene-
my of agriculture.

THERE are many forts of mails, and a large but-
terfly, which has upon its body the figure of a Death's
Head. It is called Hai J, and flies about chiefly in
rooms. It is laid that the down of its wings will
blind thofe whofe eyes it touches.

The hcrufes are full of ants, which deftroy provi-
fions of every kind. The pantries are not fafe from
their ravages, except they ftand in water. Numbers
of them are killed by an infect called a Formicates.

.* *

THE §Centpieds^ or Centipedes, are frequently found
in damp places. This infect feems ckftined to drive
mankind from the unwholefome air they breed in. Its
iting is very painful. My dog was bit by one of
them, which was more than fix inches longj the

J Odious or Hateful ; To called, the Author fays, from the fear
it excites. T.

§ This, I fuppoff to be the infeft Scola; tndria, btforementi-
encd. 7*.

wound

VOYAGE to the ISLE J>F FRANCE. 71

wound turned to a kind of ulcer, and was three
weeks in healing. I was highly plealed with feeing
one of them carried off by a valt unmber of ants •,
they had feized it by all its legs, and bore it along
as workmen do a large piece of timber,

THE yellow wafp with black rings upon the body,
is not lels formidable for its fting, than the fcorpion,
which is very common here. It builds in trees, and
even in houfes, its hive is of a fubftance like paper.
There was one of them in my chamber •, but I iooa
grew weary of fo dangerous a gueft.

The wafp called Mafonnel, or the Mafon, builds
itfelf a neit of earth, which one would think, was
the work of a fwallow, were any in the ifland. It
lodges in rooms that are not frequented, and chiefly
in the locks, which are filled with its labours.

ONE frequently finds in the gardens, leaves of the
fize of a fixpence j this is the work of the wafps,
who lhape with their teeth thefe circular pieces, with
a nicety and readinefs truly admirable. They carry
them into their nelts, and having rolled them into
the lhape of a horn, depofit their eggs in. them.

THERE is a. fpecies of infccl like an ant, which is
not Jefs induftrious with regard to their habitations.
They make gr^at havock among the trees and timber,
the wood of which they reduce to a powder ; with
this dull they conftrudl little caverns of about an inch
broad, under which they live •, thefe caverns or pipes,
are black, and will; fbmetimes run over the timber of
a whole houfe. They wil) penetrate through trunks,
or furniture in one night. I found no remedy fo ef-
as to rub the places they frequented very of-
F 4 ten

fZ VOTfAGE ta tie ISLE or FRANCE.

ton with garlick. They call thefe infects Car •;' as.
.Many houies are quite ruined by them.

are three fpecies of Caxcre'as, the dirtieft ot
all the Scaraboea. One of them is fiat and grey -, the
mdft common one is of the fize of a cockchafer, cf a
reddiih brown. It attacks furniture, especially books
and papers, and harbours conftantly in the offices
and kitchens. The houfes are very much peftered,
with them ; efpecially in wet weather.

IT has for an antagonift, a fpecies of Scflmbxa, or
green fly, very gawdy and very nimble. When die
Can relaf is met with, and touched by this fly, it be*
conies mou'onkfc. The fly then feeks for fame crack
or chink, to which it draws the cancrelas and thrurts
it in, depofits an egg in its body, and then leaves it.
This touch, which feme look upon as a charm, is
the -ftroke of the fting, the effect of which is inftan-
taneous, this infect being elfe hard to kill.

IN the trunks of trees there is found a large worm
v/ith paws, that picks the trees, they call it Montac.
The blacks, and even the white people eat them
greedily. Pliny obferves, that they were ferved up
at the moft capital tables in Rome, and were fattened
with meal for that purpofe. That found in the oak-
tree was in the higheft eftimation ; and was called coj-
fus. Thus have abundance and fcarciry combined in
tjie fame tafte ; and like all other extremes, ap-
proached very near to each other.

THERE are lady-birds on the fides of the rivulets,
of a fine violet colour, with a head like a ruby.
This infect is carnivorous. I have feen it carrying
a beautiful butterfly through the air.

HE

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 73

THE apartments are, at certain feafons, filled
-with moths, or fmall butterflies, that come and
iinge themfelves in the candle. They are fo nu-
merous, that the candles are frequently obliged to
be put into cylinders of glafs. They draw in^o the
houfes a very handfome imall lizard, about a fin-
ger's length. Its eyes are lively ; it climbs ajong
the walls, and even along the glafs, lives upon flies
and other infedts, and watches with great patience
for an opportunity of catching them. It lays eggs
that are fmall and round like peas, having a white
and yellow ihell, as the eggs of pullets. I have
feen fome of thefe lizards fo tame, that they would
come and take fugar out of a perfon's hand. Far
from being mifchievous, they are on the contrary,
very ulefuL Some very beautiful ones are to be
feen in the woods, of an azure, and changeable
green, marked with crimfon on the back, like Ara-
bic characters.

AN enemy that is ftill more terrible to the in-
fects, is the Spider. Some of them have bellies as
big as a nut, with large paws, covered with hair.
Their webs are fo ftrong, that even fmall birds are
catched in them. They are of ufe, in deftroying
the wafps, fcorpions, and centipedes. There is a
little white louie, that harbours in fruit-trees, and
deftroys them ; and a bug, whofe bite is more dan-
gerous than that of the fcorpion, and is fucceeded by a
tumour as big as a pigeon's egg, which continues
for four or live days.

You will obferve, that the temperature of this
climate, fo tempting to the inhabitants of Europe,
is fo favourable to the propagation of infects, that
in a fhort time, the fruits would be eaten up by
them, and the ifland itfelf become uninhabitable ;

but

74 VOYAGE to the ISLE or FRANCE.

but the fruits of thefe meridional countries, arc
clothed with a thick rind, and afterwards with a
{kin, a very hard Ihell, or an aromatic bark, like
the orange or citron, infomuch that the flies can,
introduce their worms into very few of them only.
Many of thefe noxious animals are at perpetual
war with each other, as the fcorpion and the centi-
pied, TThe Formi:aleos lays fnares for the Ant •, the
green, fly pierces the Cancrela* j the Lizard hunts
the Butterfly ; the Spiders fpread nets for every infecl
that flies -, and the hurricane which rages once a
year, annihilates at once a great part, both of thp
prey, and of the devourers.

PoRT-Louis, DSC. 7, 1768,

L E T-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 75

LETTER X.

am now to write to you concerning the fea, and
its productions, you will then know at leaft as
much as the Hril Portuo-uezc that landed in this

D

ifland. If I can add to this a metereological journal,
you will by degrees be acquainted with the whole na-
iiiral hiftory of this country-, from hence we fhall
go on and treat of the inhabitants, and of the courfe
they have taken for the improvement of their country,
where, as in every other part of the world, good and
evil are mingled together. Plutarch would have us
deduce harmony from thefe contrarieties -, but though
good inftruments, are very common, good Mufici-
fin.% are found but rarely.

WHALES are often feen to windward of this ifland,
efpecially about September, the time of their coup-
ling. I have feen many this feafon, that kept them-
klves upright in the water, and came very near the
coaft. They are fmaller than the northern ones.
There is no whale fifhery, but the Negroes are not
unacquainted with the method of harpooning them. *
Sea Cows are fometimes catched here ; I have eaten of
them, their flefh is like beef j I never faw any of this fiih.

THE VIEILLE, is a blackifh fim, and in form and
tafte a good deal like the cod fifh. One extraordinary

* Whales are in fuch plerty upon the equally fouthern coaft of
li azil, that they conllitute the greateft part of the food of the
Negroes, belonging to the Planters near the lea ; as I have been
informed by a perfon who lived feycral years in that country. 7.

Herodotus in Lib. 4 fays that in tiie Boryllhenes, in Jus time
there were Whale*. fT.

circumftanae,

76 VOYAGE to the ISLE of FRANCE.

circurnftance, is, that the fifh on the windward-fide
of the ifland is never unwholforne. Thofe then that
attribute this poifonous quality to the Madrepores
are miftaken ; the ifland being on all fides furrounded
by banks of coral. I mould rather think it occafi-
oned by fome venomous tree falling into the water,
which conjecture is the more probable ; becaufe at one
feafon,only, fome particular ipecics of gluttonous fim
are fubjecttothis inconveniency. Moreover that fpecies
of Pigeon whofe fkm occafions convulfions in the
eaters of it, proves that the poifon is in the ifland
itfelf.

Among the fim to be fufpecled are a number of
white ones, with a large belly, and a great head%
fuch as the Captain and the Carangue. Thefe two
forts are of an indifferent tafte. Thofe that have
their mouths paved, that is to fay, a rugged bone in
their palates are thought to be never dangerous.

In general, the fmaller the fifli, the greater the
danger.

The Water-pullet, a fort of Turbot, is the beft
of all the fim catched here, — the fat is green.

PERROQVETS, that are not only green, but have
yellow heads, white and crooked beaks, and go in a
body like the birds of that name.

The HoG-FisH, is fmall and oddly fhaped ; its
head is like a pike, upon its back are leven points as
long as its body, the prick -of them is very veno-
mous •, they are united by a membrane like the wing
of a bat •, it is ftreakcd with brown ftripes, which
begin at the muzzle, exactly as thofe of the Zebra at
the Cape. The fifli is fquare like a trunk, r.r.d

which

VOYAGE to tbe ISLE OF FRANCE. 77

which name it bears, is armed with two horns like a
bull ; there are many fpecies of them : they never
grow large.

The EEL is tough, they arc of the conger fort,
fome of them are feven or eight feet long, and as
thick as a mans leg. They harbour in the creeks of
the rivers, and fometimes devour thofe who are im-
prudent enough to bathe there.

There are LOBSTERS or CRAY-FISH of a pro-
digious fize, their paws are not large, they are blue,
marbled with black. I have feen here a fpecies of
lobfter that is fmaller and of* a beautiful form -, it
was of a fky-blue-, it had two little claws, divided
into two articulations, like a knife with the blade
/hutting into the handle.

There is a great variety of CRABS. The follow-
ing feemed to be moft worthy of notice.

A fort that is rugged with tubercules and points
like a madrepore ; another that has upon its back
the imprefTion of five fcals ± another with fomething
in the Ihape of a horfe-fhoe at the end of its claws ;
a fort covered with hair, that has no claws, and that
adheres to the fides of mips; a crab marbled with grey,
the fhell of which though fmooth and polilhed is very
uneven. Many irregular and ftrange figures are ob-
fervable among thefe, which are notwithftanding
perfectly alike upon each crab ; that with its eyes at
the end of two long tubes like telefcopes, which
when it is not ufmg them, it depoflts in grooves along
the fide of its fliell.

A Crab with red claws, one much larger than the
other -, a fmall crab with a fhell thrice as big as itfelf,
in which it is covered over as by a buckler, ferthat
its claws cannot be feen when it walks,

In

?8 VOYAGE to the ISLE OP FRANCE:

In many places along more and fome feet undjf
vrater are found a multitude of large Bcudins de Mt--t
red and black. In taking them out of the water they
emit a white and thick (lime, that immediately
changes into a number of fmall and glutinous threads.
I believe this animal to be ari enemy of the crab fpe-
cies, amongft which it is to be always met with. Its
vicious glear is very fit to entangle their claws, which
otherwiie could have no hold upon its elaflic hide,
and cylindrical form. The feamen give it a very
grofs appellation which I will render in latin mentu/a
monathi. The Chineie hold it in high efteem, looking
Upon it as a powerful aphrodifiac.

I think I may rank among the fhell-fim a fhapelefs
Mafs, foft and membranous, in the middle of which
is one fingle flat bone that is a little arched. In thele
fpecies the ufual order feems to be reverfed, the ani-
mal is on the outfide of the fhell,

It is thought a great fingularity, that all univalves
of which there are many, are turned from left to
right, in looking at the melt when lying on its
mouth, and the point towards ones-felf : there are very
few exceptions to this rule. What law can have
determined them to begin their volute on- the fame
fide ? Is k the fame that has caufed the fun to turn
from Weft to Fait ? In this cafe the fun may in fome
degree be the caufe, as it is of their colours, which
are the more beautiful' the nearer to the line.
There is much ingenuity and variety in the hinges
of mell-nlh, and our artifts might improve by at-
tending to the conitruction of them.

The OYSTER called the Tulier is common .. here,
and is of the fame fort as thofe that ar£ uled as holy

water

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 79

water pots in the church of St. Sulpice, at Paris ;
and is perhaps the largeft ihell which the fea produ-
ces : fome of them are found at the Maldivia Iflands,
which are not to be drawn by two oxen without dif-
ficulty. It is rather extraordinary that this oyfter is
found in Normandy as a foffil, upon which coaft I
have feen it.

Apparently, mell-rlm. do not live peacebly toge-
ther, any more than other animals do. Many of
them are found broken to pieces on the more •, thofe
that are taken whole are always pierced. I too have
fcen a fnail armed with a pointed tooth, with which
it pierced the (hells of mufcles : twas brought from
the Strcights of Magellan.

The ISLE of FRANCE is furrounded with Madre-
pores, a kind of vegetation of ttone formed like a
plant or flirub. They are fo very numerous that the
rocks feem formed of them only.

Among thofe that adorn and diverfify the bed of
the fea and adhere to it by their roots, are, the colly-
flower -, the cabbage, whole appearance is very like
that plant -, it is of the large fort, as well as another
madrepore, the ftages of which grow fpirally -, it is
very brittle -, another that by the high fhooting of its
head and the robuftnefs of its branches, refembles a
tree -, a very beautiful fpecies, which I called the
Iheaf -, it feems formed of feveral bunches of ears of
corn -, the pencil or pink, — at the center of each o-
there is a little piece that is green.

A BEAUTIFUL MADREPORE, growing in the form
of an ifland with its mores and Mountains •, another,
like an icicle ; another, the leaves of which are di-
gitated like a hand ; the ftag-wood, with horns very

detached

So VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

detached and brittle : the beehive, a large fl\apdefs
mafs, the whole furface of which is full of regular
holes; the pale blue coral, which is rare, — within, it is
of a deeper blue-, the jointed coral, black and w hi te^
containing a fmall piece of red coral which has not
yet beenfeen here -, vegetations of coral, blue, white,
yellow and red, fo brittle, and fo much pierced that
one cannot fend any of it to Europe.

AMONG the Litof bites •, a plant like a long ftraw
•without leaves, buds or buttons ; a vegetation like a
foreft of trees , their roots are very much interwoven,
and have each a fmall nofegay of flowers-, the fub-
ftance of this Litopbitt is of the nature of wood, and
burns like it in the fire; it is notwithftanding clafled
among the Madrepores.

I HAVE feen three forts of fea ftar-wort, but no-
thing remarkable in either. Formerly ambergreafe
was found upon the coaft, (there is even a little
ifland to windward called by that name). It is fome-
times brought from Madagafcar.

IT is not now doubted but that the Madrepores are
the work of an infinity of fmall animals, akho' they
have a perfect refemblance of plants v I was pleafed
to be experimentally convinced of this, it being de-
lightful to me to look upon the Univerfe as peopled*
Befides I conceive fo regular a work can only be car-
ried on by fome agent endewed with intelligence and
a love of order. Thefe vegetations refemble ours fo
much, the component matter apart, that I am even
nuch induced to believe our vegetables allb to be *
productions of the labour of a multitude of living
animals combined together for that purpoie. I had
much rather look up6n a tree as a republick, than as
a machine without life, and actuated by I know not

• See letter 29 where thU fubjeft is difcufled,

what

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 8c

what laws of Hydraulics. I could fupport this o-
pinion by many curious obfervations, for which I
may perhaps fometimc hence have leifure. Thefe
reiearches may be ufeful, but when not employed to
a good purpoie, do but divert our attention from thb
more laudable purfuits on which it mould be employed,
and habituate it to fix upon any thing trifling that
prefents itfelf. Our hiftories are frequently made up
of calumnies, our moral treatifes, of Satires, and our
locieties and academies of (lander and epigrams.
And after all this, men lament that friendmip and
confidence no longer exift ; not confidering the im-
poffi bility that they mould do ib •, among perfons, each
of whom carries a fhield upon his heartland a poignard
under his cloak.

Let us talk little, or let us form fyftems, Tradi-
d'tmundum difputationibus. Let us difpute then, but
without being angry.

PORT Louis, \2tb of January 1769.

METEREOLOGICAL JOURNAL.

QUALITIES OF THE AIR.

JULY, 1768..

DURING this month the winds blew from the
fouth-weft as it ufually does all the year. There is a
ftrong breeze all day, and at night it is calm. Altho'
tis now the dry feafon, yet it frequently rains, with
violent fqualls, that laft but a mort time. The air
is very fharp • in fo much that cloth clothes are in-
difpenfably neceflary.

G AUGUST,

fc VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

A U G U S T.

IT rained almoft every day. The tops of the
mountains are covered with vapours like fmoke.
which defcend upon the plains with guils of wind.
Thefe rains frequently form niinbows upon the fides
of the mountains, which however are not the lets
black on that account.

SEPTEMBER.

THE wind and weather as before. Tis the feafon
for harveft. If heat and moiflure are the fole caufes
of vegetation, why does nothing Ihoot at this time ?
It is no lefs hot than in May in France. Can there be
any fpirit of life attending the return of the fun ?
The Romans paid honours to the weftern wind, and
fixed the period of its arrival at the 8th of February.
They called it Favonius^ or the Fofterer. 'Tis the
fame a? the Zephyr of the Greeks. Pliny fays it
ferves as a hufband to all things that draw their ex-
iftence from the earth.

OCTOBER.

TtJE fame temperature ; the air is a little hotter,
it is always coldefl in the interior part of the ifland.'
At the end of this month they fow their wheat, and
in four months after is their harveft •> they then fow
maize, which is ripe in September. Thus have
they two crops on the fame land ; but thefe are fcarce-
ly a compenfation for the other plagues with which
this ifland is peftered. •

NOVEMBER.

THE heats begin tq be felt, the winds change,
and fometimes get round to the N. W, Storms of
rain fall.

No

VOYAGE to the JSIE OF FRANCE. 83

No (hip from France. No letter. It is grievous
at this diftance to be in conftant expectation of our
chief happinefs from Europe.

.DECEMBER,

THE heats are excefllve. The fun is in the zenith,
but the air is tempered by plentiful rains. I think I
iiave felt it hotter in the fummer at Peterfbourg, At
the beginning of the month I heard thunder for the
.firft time fii^ce my arrival.

»

THE 23d ia tfye morning the wind blew from the
S. W. and feemed ]to prefage a ftorm. The clouds
gathered at the top of the mountains. They were
<of an olive or copper colour, .and one long range of
them was higher than the reft and motionlefs, The
fmaller ones that were below blew about with a fur-
prifmg rapidity. The fea broke upon the rocks with
a great noiie. Many of the fea birds flew for fhelter
to the land. The domeftic animals were very uneafy.
The air was gloomy and hot although the wind was
{till high.

ALL thefe figns prefaging a hurricane, every body
haftened to ftrengthen their houfes with fupporters
and props, and to block up their doors and windows,

ABOUT 10 o'clock in the evening the hurricane
announce^ itfelf by horrible gufts of wind, which were
followed by not lefs horrible intervals of calm, in
which the wind feemed to. collect new powers. It kept
augmenting the whole night; my apartment being
very much ihaken, I went into another. The good
woman I lodged with, wept, and was in defpair at
the thoughts of her houfe being deftroyed. Nobody
went to bed. Towards morning the wind redoubled

G 2 its

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

its efforts. I perceived that one fide of our
fence was falling, and that part of the root of the
houfe was raifed at one corner •, 1 got fome plank s
and cords, by means of which I prevented the damage
that would elfe have happened. In crofting the yard
to give directions about this work, I frequently
thought I fliould have been blown down. Some walls
at a diftance were falling, and fome roofs were torn
to pieces, the timbers of which were blown away as
if they had been cards.

ABOUT 8 in the morning fome rain fell, and the
wind not at all abated, blew it horizontally along
with fuch violence, that it entered like fo many Jets-
de'au at every the fmalleit opening. It fpoiled feveraj
of my papers.

AT 1 1 o'clock the rain fell in torrents. The wind
fubfided a little, the ravines in the mountains formed
prodigious caicades on every fide. Large pieces of
the rocks broke off with a noife like that of Cannon,
and as they rolled down, cleared to themfelves a path
among the woods. The rivulets overflowed into the
plain which by this time was like another fea, neither
banks nor bridges being any more to be feen.

AT one o'clock the wind whirled about to the
N. W. and drove the furf of the fea in large clouds
along the land. The mips in the harbour were run
afhore, and kept firing guns as fignals of diftrefs,
but in vain, for no fuccour could be fent to them..
By thefe repeated gufts, the buildings were acted
upon the contrary way, and with nearly equal vio-
lence. About noon the wind mifted to the E. and
then to the W. Thus it went quite the circle of the
horizon in the four-and-twenty hours, as ufual,-—
'after which a perfect calm fucceeded.

Many

VOYAGE to the ISLE of FRANCE. 85

Many trees were blown down, and bridges carried
away. Not one fingle leaf remained in our gardens.
Even the herb dogs-tooth fo remarkably hardy, feem-
ed in fome places to be cut to the very edge of the
"•round.

o

DURING the temped a good man of this place
whole name is Le Ruux^ a joiner, fent his blacks and
workmen to help thofe that might want their afiill-
unce, and this without any gratuity. Good actions
mould never be pafled over without notice, — efpecially
in this place.

THERE was an eclipfe at 4 min. paft 5 on the 23d,
but the bad weather prevented its being feen.

The hurricane comes regularly every year in De-
cember, and fometimes in March. As the winds
make the tour of the horizon, there is not a cavern
in the ifland unfilled with the rain, which deftroys a
great number of rats, grafshoppers and ants, — they
are not feeen again for fome time.

IT holds the place of a winter, but the ravages
made by it are more to be dreaded. That of 1760
will be a long time thought of. A fhutter was feen
lifted into the air and then darted like an arrow, upon
a roof at fome diftance. The lower mafts of a 64
gun mip were twitted round and broken off. No
tree in Europe could withft and the force of thefe whirl-
winds. How the trees of the country are protected
we have feen above.

JANUARY, 1769.

RAINY weather, hot and gloomy; great ftorms,
but little thunder. The gales of wind blowing very
hard in this feafon all navigation is at -a ftand from
December til) April.

THE

86 VOYAG E to tie ISER OF FRANCE,

THE Meadows recover their verdure, the earth
prefents a pleafanter profpec\ but the fky a difmai
one.

F E BR U AKY,

STORMY weather, and violent gufts of wind,
The Happy, a pafiage boat fent to Madagafcar, and
the Favorite, a Ihip, are both loft.

THE 25th of this month the clouds gathered toge-
ther by a N. W. wind, formed themfelves. into along,
range from the Flag Mountaia to the I fie of To fine. -
Hers. It is motionlefs : claps of thunder innumerable.
proceeded from it. The ftorm lafted from 6 in, the
morning till noon, during which time a number of
thunderbolts fell ; one of them, killed a Grenadier,.
and another, a Negro woman •>, an ox upon; the I (land
of Tonneliers had the fame fate: a gun in an officer's,
houfe was melted. The people here, fay, that the
thunder never falls within the town ? for, my part 1
never heard any fo loud, and could not help thinking.
it very like a bombardment. I am of opinion that if
they had fired one cannon, the explofion would have
difpelled the motionlefs clouds from whence the thun-
der iflued.

MARC H.

THE rains are not fo frequent^ and the winds al-
ways from the S. W. The heat is now tolerable.

A P R I L.

THE feafon is fine, and the herbage begins to be
dry, and fhould it now be fet on fire, the landfcape
would be totally black for feven months to come.

C 3 MAY.

VOYAGE to tbe ISLE OF FRANCE. 87

M A Y.

TOWARDS the end of this month the winds ac-
cording to cuftom turned to N. W. We have now
the dry feafon. I was in the plains, called Williams
plains, and found the air of a temperature perfecUy
pleafant and refrefhing.

JUNE.

7'HE -winds blow almoft conftantly from the S, E.
and the Ihowers of fmall rain again begin to fall.

No malady feems peculiar to this country, but the
people have all thofe we have in Europe, as the apo-
plexy, fmall-pox, pleurifi.es and obftruclions in the
liver, which laft I mould imagine proceeded rather
from vexation, than from the bad quality of the water
as is the general opinion. I have feen a ftone taken
from a Negroe of the place which was bigger than an
egg. Violent gouts and paralytic diiorders are
common.

THE Blacks and children are very fubje&to worms ;
the former have in the venereal difeafe dreadful chops
or clefts in the foles of their feet. The air is as good
as in Europe, but has no medicinal virtues, and I
would by ail means difluade gouty perfons from com-
ing here, having feen fome people keep their beds for
fix months together.

THE change of the feafons, makes a very fenfible
alteration in the conftitution of the inhabitants. They
are liable to bilious fevers, and the heat occafions
ruptures, but temperance and bathing will keep a
man in health. I cannot however but obferve that in
cold countries, the people are more healthy and their
G 4 fpirits

88 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

fpirits more vigorous, and it is worthy of remark,
that hiftory mentions no celebrated man that was-
born between the tropics, except Mahomet.

LETTER XI.

MANNERS OF THE WHITE INHABITANTS.

Ifle of France was uninhabited till difco-
JL vered by Mafcarenhas. The firft French peo-
ple that eftablifhed themfelves here were fome Huf-
bandmen from Bourbon. They brought with them
fimplicity of manners, goodfaith and confidence, a
love of hofpitality and even an indifference with re-
fpect to riches. Monfieur de Bourdonnais who was
in fome meafure the founder of the colony, brought
workmen into it that were good fort of men, and
fome others whom their parents fent from home for
inifconducl:, and whom by his difcipline he made
good and ufeful members to fociety.

WHEN he had rendered the ifland refpeclable by
the labour he exerted for its encouragement, and it
was thought a proper place to touch at in the way to
India, people of all ranks poured in upon it. Among
whom were the perfons fent out by the India Compa-
ny. The principal employments on the illand- being
veiled in their hands, they lived in a ftate equal to that
of the nobles in Venice, and to their ariftocratical,
"manners joined fotnething alfo of a fpirit of financing^

which

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 89

which is always prejudicial to the fpirit of agricul-
ture. Every appointment was at their difpofal, and
.their power was alike abfolute in judicial matters, as
in matters of trade. Some of them cleared the lands,
and erected buildings, which they fold again at an
exorbitant rateto thofe who came thither to fettle. An
outcry was raifed againft the oppreiTors, but fo great
-'was their power, that no redrels could be obtained.

SEVERAL feafaring people eftablifhed here, who for
41 long time could not underftand that the dangers and
fatigue of the trade to India was to them, in propor-
tion as the honours and profits of it were to thofe for
whom they 'laboured. This fettlement fo near to the
Indies raifed great expectations on their firft coming.
But before their eftablimment was effected, they be-
came difcontented, and much more fo afterwards.

THE company fent out a military force, among
whom were fome officers of high birth. Theie had.
no idea of degrading themfelves fo far as to rank or
•connect with men who had formerly been Merchants
Clerks ; except to receive their pay of them : they
'liked the feamen as little.asthe merchants, — theirman-
ners were too blunt and unpoli/hed. Thus their
pride (landing in the way of their fortune, they con-
tinued as poor as when they left France.

SOME of tiie King's troops touched here, and ftaid
fome time. A few of the officers tempted by the fe-
rcnity of the climate and a love of eafe, fixed their
abode here. Every thing and every body being fub-
ject to the company only, the fubultern did not meet
.here with the diftinction andrefpect paid to him in gar-
jifons, and which were fo flattering to his vanity, —
toeing without employment he was looked upon as an

alien

c/o VOYAGE to the ISLE Or

alien among the" mercantile people, each of whom had
his particular intereft to attend to«

OTHER fettlers here, were the Miffionaries of St.
Lazarus, who availing themfelves of the fimplicity of
the firft inhabitants, had exercifed a dominion over
them uncontrouled : but when the body of the peo-
ple increafmg very faft, divided and difperfed itfelf,
they were content to attend to their paftoral functions,
and to fome of the better fort of families who counte-
nanced their vifits.

NEXT landed fome merchants who brought money
with them, though to no great amount. In an ifland
without trade they added to the abufes of brokerage
already practifed, and introduced befides monopplies
of every kind.

THEY quickly became odious to the other inhabi-
tants, who wanting the means of impofition, were
themfelves impofed upon, and gave their oppreflbrs
the epithet of Banians, a name there held in as much
abhorrence as that of Jew in France. They alfo
affected to defpife the diftinctions of rank, looking
upon every man after his having crofled the line, to
be the equal of his neighbour.

AT length the late war in India, inundated upon the
Jile of France, die fcum of Europe and of Afia, Bank-
rupts,— ruined Libertines, — Thieves, and wretches
of every kind, who driven from the former by their
crimes, and from the latter by the bad fuccefs of our
arms, attempted to reeftablim their fortunes upon the
ruins of the public. On the arrival of this fet of men,
the complaints both general and particular of the inha-
bitants were augmented ; every character was tradu-
ced with an Aliat;c ingenuity > hitherto unknown to

the

VOYAGE to tbe ISLE OF FRANCE. 91

the caluminators of our climate •, no woman was now
looked upon as chafte, nor any man as honeft : all
confidence and efteem, were at an end. Thus by vi-
lifying all mankind, they thought to reduce all man-
kind to their own level.

ALL their hopes being founded upon a change of
the adminiftration, they at laft effected their defign.
The company in 1765 yieMing up to the King, a co-
iony which had coft them fo much trouble and ex-
pence •, — Order and peace were now expected to
refume their feat, but it was found that this change
had added new leaven to the fermentation : for a num-
ber of perfons were fent by authority from Paris to
make their fortunes in an ifland, uncultivated and
without any fettled trade, and where paper is the only
currency. Thefe then were malecontents of another
fort.

A party of the inhabitants who were grateful e-
nough to continue their attachment to the company,
faw with grief, the introduction of the royal jurifdic-
tion. The other party that had reckoned upon the
new government, feeing that none but oeconomical
plans were adopted, felt their difappointment the
more feverely, on account of the expectations they
had formed.

To thefe new differences were added the difientions
of bodies of men, who were at continual variance
even in France, — the departments of the marine,
the pen, — and the fword; — In ihort, the mind of
every individual, being neither occupied by bujinefs,
nor amuied by public entertainments, retired within
itfelf, to brood over its own inquietudes.

Difcord reigns all over the ifland, and has entirely
extirpated that love of fociety which might be ex-
pected

92 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCS.

peeled to prevail among Frenchmen banimed to a
defart, furrounded by the feas, and at the end of the
world. Each man is difcontented j — each man wants
to get a fortune — and to leave the place. To hear,
them talk one would think the ifland would be again
uninhabited, every man declaring he will go away
next year, and fome of them have held this intention
for thirty years pail, yet remain to make the fame
declaration the year enfuing.

An officer from Europe foon lofes here his military
ardour. In general he has but little money and is in
want of every thing •, his houfe is without furniture:
provifions when bought retail are excefiively dear,
and he finds himfelf the fole confumer between the
inhabitants and the merchant, who feem to ftrive
who mall impofe upon him moft. This forces him to act
upon the defenfive, — he buys by wholefale,and makes
the moft of all opportunities of getting good bar-
gains, every commodity being of double value after
the departure of the mips. The anxiety of provi-
ding for his family being at an end, another enfues,
he torments himfelf with the thoughts of being an
exile from his native country, and being deftined to
remain he knows not how long in one deftitute of
every comfort and convenience, want of employ-
ment and company, aided by the hopes of gain,
allure him to engage farther in that commerce, which
mere neceffity at firft drove him to.

THERE are without doubt fome exceptions to this
general character of the military, and were they not
even numerous, I fhould recite them with pleafure.
M. de Steenhovre, the commanding officer is a pat-
tern of every virtue,

THE regiments furnilh a number of workmen v

far

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 93

for the heat is not fo exceflive as to prevent the white
people from working in the open air. That advan-
tage however for the benefit of the colony has not
been made in this refpeft, that might have been. A-
mong the recruits lent from Europe, there are fre-
quently wretches capable of the molt atrocious vil-
lainies. I cannot for my part conceive but that the
fending of culprits whofe crimes have rendered them
unworthy to remain in their native country, muft be
of bad confequence to any colony in an incipient ftate.
Thcfe unhappy creatures frequently become fo defpe-
rate, as to murder each other with their bayonets up-
on the moil trifling occafion.

ALTHOUGH the feamen do but come and go. they
yet have a great influence upon the manners of the
the inhabitants. Their policy confifts in complain-
ing of the places whence they come, as well as of thole
they arrive at. They would have you believe that
their lucky hour has pafTed them without their ma-
king a proper advantage of it, — they fpeak of them-
felves conitantly as ruined men •, they tell you how
dear they have bought, and to what lofs they have
fold. The truth of this matter is, that they think no
bargain a good one, unlefs they get 3150 per cent by
it. A calk of claret cofts 150 livres, and every thing
elfe in proportion, One would fcarcely imagine that
European goods were dearer here than in India, and
Indian goods dearer than in Eurqpe. This however
is the cafe, The feamen are much regarded by
the inhabitants who indeed could hardly exift withr
out them. Their murmurings, and perpetual going
to and again give the ifland the appearance, and in a
degree the manners of an inn.

From fo many of fuch different conditions, refults
as it were a people of different nations who hate each

other

y4 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

other mod cordially, Probity and honour are in fuj
-efteem. Xne cunning man is here the man of wit. It
is however in my opininion a character worthy only
jof foxes •, it is certainly not a property natural 'to the
human fpecies, and a wretched fociety muft that be,
where it is looked upon as aneftimable quality. (On
the other hand, miftruftful or wary people are much
diflik,ed ; this may appear a contradiction, but the
reafon is, that there is lefs to be got, from perfons ufed
to be on their guard, who may detect and expofe thole
who would impofe upon them. They will flock a-
bout a man whom they know to be artful, and will
afiift him to the utmoft in duping the ignorant.

THEIR infenfibility with refped to the feeling
which conftitute the happineis of a generous mind,
is extreme. They have no tafte for arts or literature^
but deeply regret their abfence from the Opera and the
Women of Paris. Every fentiment of humanity is
here depraved, nay, I may fay extinft. I was once
at the funeral of a confiderable merchant, but faw nq
figns of affliction ; his brother-in-law remarked in-
deed that they had not dug the grave fo deep as if
flipuld have been.

THIS indifference extends to all things about them.
The ftreets and courts are neither paved, nor planted
with [trees •, ,the houfes are meer cabbins of wood,
which may be eafily removed from one place to ano-
ther upon rollers. The windows have neither glafs
nor curtains •, and the houfes have but little furni-.
rure, and that little very fhabby.

THERE is a fort of exchange, where people meet at
noon and in the evening ; here they make their bar-
gains, and rail at, and talk fcandal of their neigh-
bours. The married people in the town are very

few

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE, 95

few. Thofe who are not rich, plead their circum-
ftances as an excufe for continuing fmgle : others fay
they will not fettle till their return to France ; but
i he true reafon is, their feldom or ever meeting with
a repiUfe in their attempts upon the negro girls. Be-
fides, there are very few good matches for the men.,
ten thoufand franks * being a fortune but feldom
heard of.

THE greater part of the married people live upon
d>eir plantations. The women fcarcely ever come to
town but tp a ball, or to confefs at Eafter. Tney arc
irion pafiionately fond of dancing. No fooner is a
ball announced, than they come in crouds, brought
in palanquins, which are a fort of litter, and carried
upon the fhoulders, of four negroes, four others fol-
lowing as a relay. As many children as there are in
;he family, fb many of theie vehicles are there, and
each attended as above by eight blacks. The huf-
bands who are prudent and fav'ing, are very averfe to.
thefe excurfions, as hindrances of the bufmefs of the
plantations •, but the roads arc fo bad, that 3 wheel
carriage here is of no ufe.

THE women are rather pale, but well made, and
in general handfome, — they have naturally a great
flow of wit and fpirits, and if better educated would
be moft agreeable companions, but I have known
Tome fo ignorant as to be unable to read.

1 , O -. .-.;..-. •...'... » .

AT their meetings they are referved and filent; each
woman brings with her fome fecret pretenfions, either
from the fortune, the employ, or the birth of the
hufband : others reckon upon ' their youth or their
beauty •, an Europian looks with difdain upon a Cre-
ole, who as often looks upon the European as an
adventurer.

r* L 437»i6 or thereabouts, acccording to the rate of Exchange.

NOT-

96 VOYAGE to the ISLF OF FRANCE.

NOTWITHSTANDING that the tongue of fcandal ?s
ever fpeaking to their prejudice, they are in my o-
pinion far more deferving than the men, by whom
they are neglected for the black flaves. Such of the
women as are really virtuous, are the more to be
commended, that it is by no means owing to their e-
ducation that they are fo. They have at once to com-
bat with the heat of the climate, the indifference of
their hufbands, and the prodigality and ardour of
young officers, fkilled in fedu&ion and regardlefs of
repujfe : if then Hymen complains and with juftice.
or the infidelities of the fair fex, whom can we thank
but ourfelves, who have introduced the manners of
France upon the mores of Africa.

IN other refpecls they have very many good quali-
ties,— are domcftic, fober, (drinking water only, ex-
cept rarely), and neat in their apprfel to an extreme.
The drefs moft common here is fof muflin trimmed
with rofe coloured taffaty. They are extravagantly
fond of their children, who run about the houle na-
ked, very foon after they are born •, are never put in
Twaddling clothes, but are frequenely bathed, eat
fruit as they think proper, live without care, and
•without ftudy, and foon grow ftrong and robuft^
The puberty of both fexes makes a very early ap-
pearance. I have known girls married here at eleven
years old.

THIS manner of bringing up children which ap-
proaches fo near to a ftate of nature leaves them in
an almoft utter ignorance ; but the vices of the negro
women, which they imbibe with their milk, and their
caprices, which they are fuffered to exercife upon
;the poor flaves to a degree of tyranny beyond all
bounds, adds to this ignorance all the depravity inr
cient to ibciety. To remedy this evil, the principal

people

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 97

people fend their children while very young into
France, from whence they return with vices perhaps
more amiable, but certainly more dangerous.

THE number of Planters on this ifland, is icarcely
four hundred. There are about a hundred women
of condition, about ten only of whom live in the
town. The evening is their viliting time — and for
want of converfation, they game, or foon grow tired
of each other. At eight o'clock the evening gun
fires, and every body goes home.

FAREWELL, my dear friend ; I am really grieved
to think that in fpeaking of mankind as they are,
the truth carries with it the air of a fatire.

PORT Louis, Ifle of France, icth of February,
1769.

H LET-

VOYAGE to the ISLE of FRANCE,

LETTER XII.

Of the BLACK S,

In the Population of this Ifland, I mull include thor
INDIANS and NEGROES.

the firft are the Malabars, or Malayans,, &
f mild and gentle people, who come from Pon-
dichcrry, where they let themfeLves as fervants for a-
term of years. They are. almoft all of handicraft
trades, and occupy a fuburb, called the Camp of the
Blacks. This people- is of a deeper hue than the
iilanders of Madagafcar, who are perfect Negroes ;..
but have features, as. regular as a Europea-a, and not
the frizled hair.. They are fober,. thrifty, and much
given . to women. They wear on their heads, a tur-
bant, are clothed in long muflin gowns, and carry
large rings of gold in their ears, and filver bracelets
on their wriils. Some of them let thernfelves to the
rich people, and are called P/<-/»j, a kind of domeitic
like our running footmen, who executes every com-
million, with the moft profound gravity •, and by way
of diftinction, carries a cane in his hand, and a poig-
nard in his girdle.. It were to beVifhed, that a great
number of Malabars were eftabliihed here, efpecially
as labourers •, but I never faw one of them fond of
farming work.

THE Blacks who till the ground, are brought from-
Madagafcar, where a flave may be bought for a bar-

rel.

VOYAGE to ibe ISLE OF FRANCE. 99

f

fcl of powder, for a few mufquets, linen, or efpeci-
ally for piaftres •, the greatelt price paid is * fifty
crowns, and that rarely.

TKTIS nation have neither fo flat a nofe, nor fo black
a fkin as the Negroes of Guinea. Some of them are
only to be called brown,- and fome, as the Falawbous,
have long hair, of a brown, or carrotty colour. They
are active, ingenious, have a quick fenfe of honour
and of gratitude, far lefs mindtul of injuries done to'
themfelv-es perfonally, than of thofe offered to their
family, — which laft, they deem an infult of thehigheft
degree. When in their own country, they make a
variety of things with much art and induftry. Their
•za%aye, or halt-pike, is very well forged, although
they have nothing but ftones for both anvil and ham-
mer. Their linens, or pagxes, which are weaved by
women, are very fine, and beautifully coloured.
Their manner of throwing this garment round them,
is extremely graceful. Their head-drefs is very re-
gular, in rows of curls and braids, nicely ranged one
above the other ; this is alfo the work of women.
They are paffionately fond of dancing and mufic,
and play upon an inftrument called a Tamtam, which
is a kind of bow, with a gourd bottle fitted to it.
The found of it is very foft, and is a pleafing accom-
pany ment to their forigs, of which, love is always
the fubject. The girls dance to the fongs their lovers
compoie, while the fpectators beat time, and applaud
the peformance.

THEY are very hofpitable. A Black who is tra-
velling, enters, though unknown, into the firft cot-,
tage he comes to ; fits down with the inhabitants of
it,- and partakes of their repaft, without being quef-'

tioned/

ioo VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

tioned, whence he comes ? or whither he is going ?
This cuftom is general.

THESE arts, and thefe manners, they bring with
them to the I fie of F ranee, where they are landed
with a rag round their loins. The men are ranged
on one fide, — and on the other, the women, with their
infants, who cling for fear to their mothers. The
inhabitant having examined them, as he would a
horfe, buys what are for his purpofe. Brothers —
fitters — friends — lovers — are torn afunder, and bid-
ding each other a long farewell, are driven weeping
to the plantations they are bought for. Sometimes
they turn defperate *, fancying that the white people
intend eating their flefh, making red wine of the"./
blood, and gunpowder of their bones.

THEY are treated in the following manner : At1
break of day, a fignal of three fmacks of a whip
calls them to work, each of them betakes himfelf with.
his fpade to the plantations, where they work al-
moft naked in the heat of the fun. Their food is
maize, bruifed, and boiled, or bread made of Ma-
nioc 7, and their clothing, a fmgle piece of linen.
Upon the commifTion of the moft trivial offence, they
arc tied hand and foot to a ladder ; the overfeer then
comes with a whip like a poftilion's, and gives them
fifty, a hundred, or perhaps two hundred lafues upon-
the back. Each ftroke carries off its portion of fkin.
The Door wretch is then untied, an iron collar with
three fpikes put round his neck, and he is then fent

* Ludicroufly extravagant, as this fancy may fcem, reflc&ion
upon the barbarities exercifcd upon them» mull allow the poffibi-
lity of its fuggefting itfelf, efpecially in minds fo ignorant as the
flaves are dele ri bed to be. 7".

f A root, for which the Englifh have no name.— 'Tis poiibn,
if eaten raw, but wholcfomc aad good, if boiled. T.

back

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. lot

back to his tafk. Some of them are unable to fit
down for a month after this beating, which punifh-
ment is inflicted with equal feverity on women as
on men.

IN the evening, when they return home, they are
obliged to pray for the profperity of their matters ;
and before they go to reft, they wifh him a good
night.

THERE is a law in force in their favour, called the
Code Noire, which ordains, that they fhall receive no
more than thirty lames for any one offence, — that
they fhall not work on Sundays,— that they mail eat
meat once a week, — and have a new fhirt every year ;
but this law is not obferved. Sometimes when
grown too old to labour, they are turned out to
get their bread where they can. One day I faw a
poor creature who was nothing but fkin and bone,
cutting off the flefh of a dead horfe to eat 9 — It was
one fkeleton devouring another.

WHEN a European feems affected at thefe fights,
the inhabitants tefi him, he does not know the Blacks
—That they are fuch gluttons as to go and fteal
victuals from the neighbouring houfes ;— fo idle, that
they take no manner of care of their matter's bufmefs,
nor do what they are fet about ; — that the women
are totally inattentive to family affairs, and fo little
concerned about children, that they had rather pro-
cure an abortion, than bring them into the world.

THE Negroes are naturally lively, but after having
been fome time in ilavery, become melancholy. Love
feems the only paffion their forrows will permit them
to be fenfible of. They do all in their power to get
married j and if their own choice is fuffered to take

H 3 place,

iO2 .VOYAGE to \bs ISLE OF FRANCS.

place, they generally prefer thofe \vho have p:>
the prime of their youth -, who, they tell you, racks
better joup than the very' youns cues. They give the
wife all they poflefs. If their millrefs is the Have of
another planter, they will go three or four leagues in
the night to fee her, through ways one would think
impaffable. When under the influence of this paffion^
they are 'alike 'fearlefs of fatigue or of punilhmcnt.
Sometimes they appoint a rendezvous in the middle
of the night, and perhaps, under the flicker of a reck,
they dance to the difmal found, of a bladder filled
with peas : but the fight of a white perfon, or the
barking of a dog, immediately breaks up the af-
lembly.

THEY have alfo dogs with them, and it is an un-
doubted truth, that thefe animals1 know perfectly,
even in the dark, not only a white man, but a dog
that belongs to a white man,— both of whom, they
fear and hate j howling as foon as they approach.

THE dogs of the white people feem on their parts,
to have adopted the fentiments of their mailers ; and
at the kaft encouragement, will fly with the utmoft
fury upon a flave, or upon his dog.

IN fliort, the Blacks are fometimes unable to en-
dure their hard lot, and give themfelves up to def-
pair. Some,— hang or poifon themfelves ; others will
get into a little boat, and without fails, provifions,
or compafs, hazard a voyage of two hundred leagues,
to return to Madagafcar, where they have been fome-
times feen to land ; and have been taken, and fent
back to their mafters.

IN general, they fecrete themfelves in the woods,
where they ^re hunted by parties of foldiers, and by

Other

VOYAGE t9 tbs ISLE OF FRANCE. 103

other negroes with dogs. Some of the inhabitants
form parties of pleafure for this purpoie — put up a
Negro as they would a wild beait, aad if they can-
not hunt him down— will fhoot him — cut off his
head— and bring it in triumph to town upon the end
of a flick. Of this I am an eye-witnefs every week.

WHEN a Maron-Negro is catched, he is whipped,,
and one of his ears cut off : The fecond time, he is
ao-ain whipped, the fmews cf his hams cut acr'ofs, and
he is put in chains : for the third offence he is hanged;
but is kept in ignorance of his fentence, 'till put in
execution.

I HAVE feen fome of them hanged and broken a-
live. They went to execution with joy, and fuffcrcd
without a cry. I once faw even a woman, throw her-
felf from the top of the ladder. They believe that
they ihall find more happincfs in another world, and
that the Father of Mankind is not unjufl, as men
are.

SOMETIMES they are baptized, and are told they
thereby become the brethren of the white people, and
will go to Heaven. But they are hardly to be made
believe that the Europeans can ever be inftrumcntal
to their going to JParadife ; laying, that on earth,
they are the caufe of all the fuiferings they endure.
They fay, that before Europeans landed in their coun-
try, they fought with flicks headed with iron •, that
they now, taught by us, kill each other at a grea'c
diftance with fire and balls ; that in order to procure
ilaves at a cheap rate, we foment continual divifions
and « ars among them ; that formerly they followed
the impulfe of Nature, without fear of thole grievous
diilempers, with which we have poiibned the confti-
tutions of their women : that- we fuffer them to lan-
guifh, without clothes, and without nouriihment, and

beat

104 VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCS,

beat them inhumanly without reafon. Of all this, I
have feen frequent instances. A female Have came
one day, and throwing herfelf proftrate at my feet,
told me j — that her miiirels made her rife fo very ear-
ly every morning, and fit up every night io late, that
me was almoft totally without deep j and that v\ hen
overcome with fatigue, me did chance to drop aileep,
her miftrefs caufed her lips to be rubbed with ordure,
which if me did not lick off, fhe underwent a whip-
ping. A relief from this intolerable grievance, was
what me begged I would intercede for. — I did fo ;
and obtained my requefb. Interceffions of this kind,
are fometimes complied with, and the punilhment is
redoubled a few days after. I v/as a witnefs to tL's
conduct, in a Counicllor, whofe Blacks complained
Of him to the Governor •, and who alTured me, that
on the morrow he would have them flead from head
to foot. Not a day paflls, but both men and women
are whipped for having broken earthen ware— for not
ihutting the door after them, or fome fuch trifling
reafon ; and when almoft covered with blood, are
rubbed with vinegar and fait to heal their wounds.

O

On the key, I have fornetimes feen them fo over-
whelmed with grief, that they have been unable even,
to utter a cry,-— others biting the cannon to
which they are tied. — My penis weary of writing this
recital of horrors -, my eyes of feeing, and my ears or.1"
hearing their doleful moanings. Happy you, who
when tired of continuing in town, can retire to a
country where fertile plains are feen, with rifing
hills, villages, harvefts and vintages, the plenty of
which chears the hearts of a people who accompa-
ny their labours with dancing and finging. — Signs
thefe, at leaft, of happinefs. The rights I fee, are
poor Negro women bent over a fpade, the compa-
nion of their labour, — their children flung at their
backs — Negroes, who pafs trembling and fhrinking

before.

VOYAGE; to tbe ISLE OF FRANCE, 105

before me,— fometimes I hear the found of their *'Tam~
hour afar off; but far more frequently, the fmack of
the whips, that eccho in the hills like the report of
a piftol, and cries of, 4> Mercy ! Mafter, Mercy !"
which at once itrike my ears and pierce my heart.

JF I feek a retirement, I r]nd a country, barren,
rugged, and rocky ; mountains whofe fummits,
inacceffibie, retard the courfe of the clouds, and
breaking them, form torrents that rufh into abyffes
equally horrible and and tremendous, The winds
that roar in the deferts, the hollow, difmal found of
the waves darning upon the breakers, the fea before
me, vaft, and extending to regions unknown to the
human race, all combine to deprefs and deject my
fpirits, and to furnim me with ideas fit only for an
exile and an cutcait.

PoRT-Louis, April 15, 1769.

P. .°. WHETHER coffee andfugar are really necef-
fary to the happinefs of Europe, is more than I can
fay, but I affirm — that theie two vegetables have
jbrought wretchednefs and mifery upon America and
Africa. The former is depopulated, that Europeans
may have a land to plant them in ; and the latter, is
dripped of its inhabitants, for hands to cultivate
them.

IT is thought more for our intereft to have planta-
tions for cultivating ourfelves the commodities we
want, than to purcfyafe them of our neighbours. But

* I fuppofe this to be the inllrumsnt they dance to, as before-
tfientioncd. T.

But

io6 VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE.

But fmce carpenters, bricklayers, mafons, and other
workmen from Europe, can work in the open air, and
expofed to the fun, why mould not white men be
employed in all forts of labour ! But what then is to
become of the proprietors of thefe lands ? I aniwer,
they would become the richer by this means. An
inhabitant would live at his eafe, were he to employ
twenty farmers,— pofieffed of twenty flaves, he ftrug-
gles in vain with an infurmountable poverty. The
number of flaves here are computed at 2000. A
yearly recruit of an eighteenth part of that, number,
is found abfolutcly neceflary. Hence wefeethat the
colony left to itfelf, would in eighteen years be ex-
tirpated.— So true is it, that without liberty and
property, population muft decreafe, — and that in-
juftice and good hufbandry are incompatible.

THE Code Noir^ is faid to be made for relief of
the flaves. Be it fo— Yet does the cruelty of the
mafters exceed the punifhment it permits, and their
avarice with-hold the food, the reit, and the rewards
it decrees. If the poor wretches complain of this
infringement, to whom do they feek for redrcfs ? to
judges, who are perhaps the tyrants, under whole,
opprefiion they languifh.

BUT fay they, thefe people are not to be retrained,
but by ieverities. Punifhments muft be inflicted,
iron collars with three points, whips, fetters for their
legs * ; and chains of iron for their necks muft be

made

* I cannot help attempting to defcribe in this place, a fort of
IRON MASK, or as it is more properly called a MUZZLE, great
numbers of which, I am told, are kept by feveral wholefale iron-
mongers in this city, to fupply the orders of merchants and plan-
ters in the Weil-India iflands — I have feen one of them at the
houfe of a Gentleman, as well known for his universal benevolence,

33'

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE, 107

; ft nde life of— they mu ft be treated like favage beafts,
or the white people could not live like men. From
this principle, fo grofsly unjuft, no confequences can
be deduced, but what are equally unjuft and inhu-
man j nor does it fulfice, that thefe poor Negroes are
victims to the avarice and cruelty of the moft depra-
ved of men, but they muft alfo be the fporj; of their
fophillical arguments.

OUR priefts tell them, that the flavery of their pre-
fent life, will enfure to them a fpiritual liberty in
Heaven. But the greater part are bought at an age
too late to learn French, and our MifTionaries do not
underftand the language of the country. Moreover,

as for his particular perfeverance in behalf of the African Negrccs,
and who ufes it as an IRON argument againft the toleration of
SlaVf holding. —It is fattened round the peck of the wretched Cul-
prit, by a collar, from which rife f«me Bars of iron, forming the
Ma(k and Head-piece $ — —before the mouth is a round plate of
iron, wherein are bored holes, to allow a imall portion of breath.

to tlie wearer.— —There is a!fo a place for his nofe. -Aflat

pica- uf iron gors into the mouth, at>d adts upon the tongue and

glands, as a flayering-bit does upon thofe of a horfe. Worn by

a man working beneath the (torching rays of the fun in the torrid
zone, it foon attains a violent degree of heat, which with the
£on!tant flowing c f the f.iliva, in a little time, excoriates the nofe,
rnouth, and chin, and muftoccafion a TORMENT, the very idea of
which it would give me pain to convey to the Reader. In En-
gland, we put upon a vicious horfe, or a mifchievous Jog, a muz-
zle of Lfi/tTHfR, — ; — this, lelf-prefervation dictates, but

what cogent motive can urge the flave-holder, to put upon his

fellow-creature — upon a MAN A MUZZLE OF IRON. 1 will

tell the Reader. "Tis to prevent him, when at work, from

fucking, or eating of the fugar-canes, herein denying him that
indulgence which the ALMIGHTY GOD charged the Ifraelire, by
the remembrance of his own flavery in Egypt, to Ihew to HIS
BEAST, when treading cut the corn, — or from putting an-end to
his wretched exiftencej by cramming himfeif with the dirt of the
ground. A practice to which the defpairing wretches are fre-
quently driven by the merulefs treatment oi their worfe than
Egyptian Tafkmalters. T.

thofe

joS

thofe who have been baptized, are not a jot better
treated than the reft.

THE Planters add, that the Negroes merit the
vengeance of Heaven,, for the trarEc they carry on.
Are we then to take upon us to be their executioners ?
Let us leave the deftruction of kites to the vultures.

I AM concerned to fee, that Philofophers, who en-
ter the lifts with fo much alacrity to combat other
abufes, fcarcely fpeak of this flavery of the Negroes,
beyond a degree of pleafantry. Indeed, 'tis a fubjefb
they feem deiirous of avoiding. They fpeak of the
maflacre of Paris, and of the Mexicans by the Spa
niards, as if the crimes of our days, and in which the
half of Europe are conqerned either as principals or
accefiaries, were not equal to them, Can they be-
lieve the iniquity of murdering a number of people
of a different perfuafion than ourfelves, to be greater,
than that of bringing mifery and torment or the fe-
vereft natu.re upon a whole nation, to whom we are
indebted for thofe delicacies which our luxury has
rendered neceflary to us ? Thofe beautiful rofe and
flame-colours, in which our Ladies arc drefTed, cot-
ton, of fp, general ufe, coffee and chocolate, now the
only breakfaft admitted to polite tables •, the rouge
with which the pallid beauty gives new bloom to her
complexion ; — all thefe are prepared by the induftri-
ous hand of the enflaved and oppreffed Negro. Ye
women of fenfibility and fentiment, who weep at the
affedting ftory of a novel, or the reprefentation of a
tragedy, know, that what conftitutes your chiefeft
delight, is moiftened with the tears, aod cfced.
the blood of men.

LET-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 109

LETTER XIII.

AGRICULTURE. Herbs, Vegetables, and Flowers
imported.

TH E greater part of the plants, trees and ani-
mals, I am about to defcribe, have been brought
liere by order of government. Some of the inhabi-
tants have contributed their endeavours for this pur-
pofe •, among others, Meffrs. de Coflini, Poivre, Her-
mans, and le Juge. I wifhed to have learnt the
names of the others, that I might have mentioned
them with the refpect which is their due. The gift,
or introducing of a ufeful plant, being, in my opi-
nion, of more confequence, than the dilcovery of a

gold mine, and a monument more durable than a

8 . , '

pyramid.

I SPEAK of them in the following order ; firft, the
plants, which being once fown, ever after fow them-
ielves, and are, as it were, naturalized in the coun*
try -, iecondly, thole that are articles of cultivation
in the country •, thirdly, the produce of the kitchen-
garden ; fourthly, of the flower-garden. I ftiallpur-
fue the fame method with the trees and fhrubs. Of
thofe I know, I (hall omit none. — Whatever Nature
has not difdained to form, we certainly ought not to
think too infignificant to defcribe.

AMONG the plants that grow wild, is found in fomc
of the plains round the town, a kind of indigo, which

I ap-

iio VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE';

I apprehend to be foreign to this iQand. It is of ncr
ufe.

THE Purflain grows in liindy places •, I take this'
to be natural here, being reckoned among that clafs
of Plants, which when rotten, manures the ground,
and which Nature feems to have made the growth of*
dry and fandy foils, to facilitate vegetations of other
kinds.

WATER-CRESSES, are found in every rivulet. They
have been brought here thefe ten years. The Dande-
lion and wormwood grow fpohtaneoufly in rubbifh,
or ground newly opened ; but above all, the mullen'
expands its large downy leaves, and moots up its gi-
randole of yellow flowers to a furprizing height.

THE Bulrum (not the Chinefe plant fo called) is a
gfafs about the height of well-grown rye. It extends"
itfelf daily, and choaks the plants that grow near it,
It is apt to be tough when dry, and mould therefore
be cut before ripe. It is green for five months only
in a year, and it is afterwards iet on fire, notwith-
ftanding the burning of it is prohibited. The flames
of it burn and parch up the out-fkirts of the woods,

THE White-grafs, (fo called from the colour of its
.flower) was brought here, as being proper for forage,/
but no animal will eat of it ; the feed relembles that
of cherville. It multiplies fo fail, that it is become;
one of the plagues of hufbandry.

THE Brette, which fignifies in the Indian langu-
age, a leaf good to eat, is a fpecies of the morell.
There are two forts of it ; one called the Brette of
Madagafcar. Its leaf is rather prickly, but of a
.pleafant tafte, and is purgative. The other is com-'

morily

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF EAANCE. in

monly ferved up to table as fpinnage, and is the only
food of which the Blacks may eat at difcretion, and
grows all over the iiland. The water in which it is
boiled becomes very bitter. In this liquor, mingled
and ftill more imbittered by their tears, the Negroes
ileep their Cafiave,

AMONG the plants cultivated in the country, is,
the CafTave-Root. It grows in dry foils ; its juice
has loll the poifonous quality it formerly had : 'tis a
fhrub, whofe leaf is like that of hemp, with a root as
thick and as long as a man's arm ; when rafped, and
imprefTed, they make cakes of it, that are heavy like
dough. Three pounds of this are allowed for the food
of a Negro for one day. This vegetable grows and
fpreads very fail, — M. de la Bourdonnois brought it
from America. 'Tis a uieful plant, beiog eafily
fhekered from the hurricanes, and enfures a certain
fubfiftence to the Negroes, for the dogs will not eat
it.

THE Maize orTwkifh corn grows very beautifully
here. 'Tis a precious grain j turns to good account,
but will not keep more than a year, as the mitses. get
into it : this, I think, a good reafon why die culti-
vation of it mould be encouraged in Europe, as it
cannot be with- held long from market. It ferves as
food for the Haves, the fowls, and the cattle. JTis
worthy remark, that the inhabitants fpeak highly of
the excellence of Maize and the Manioc, but never
eat of either. 1 have feen little cakes of them in a
defert, and when they are made with a great deal of
fugar, of wheat-flower, and yolks of eggs,, they are
very eatable.

WHEAT

112 VOYAGE to tbe ISLE OF FRANCE.

WHEAT grows well here, but not to any great
heighth. They put the feed into the ground by fin-
gle grains, becaufe of the rocks -, they cut it with
knives, and threlh it out with fmall flicks. It will
not keep fo long as two years. Pliny tells us, that
in Barbary and Spain, it was put in full ear into
holes in the earth, taking care to introduce a pro-
per quantity of air. Varro fays, that it would keep
by this means for fifty years, and millet, for a whole
century. Pompey found at Ambratia fome beans
preferved in this manner, fmce the time of Pyrrhus,
which was near 120 years. But Pliny will not ad-
mit of the cultivation of the earth by (laves of any
kind, whofe work, he fays, is never done effectually.
Although the meal of the wheat that grows here is
not fo white as that from Europe, yet I prefer the
bread of it, to that of european meal, which eithef
grows vapid, or ferments during the voyage,

RICE, the befl, and perhaps the moft wholefome of
all aliments, thrives very much. It keeps longer
than the wheat, and yields more plentifully. A
wet foil agrees with it befl. There are above fe-
ven different fpecies of it in Afia, one of which
grows befl in a dry foil -, it were to be wifhed, that
this grain were cultivated in Europe, on account of
its extraordinary fertility.

THE fmaller kind of millet yields abundantly.
It is feldom given but to the blacks and the beafls.
Oats thrive exceedingly, but the cultivation of them,
or of any thing elfe, which the blacks or the beafls
only derive benefit from, is very little attended to.

THE Tobacco is not good. None is planted but
by the Negroes for their own ufe»

THE

VOYAGE to the ISI.E OF FRANCE, nj

THE Fata^nc, is a grafs, bearing large leaves, of
the nature of a fmall role-tree. They import it frOm
Madagafcar, and make of it the molt delightful arti-
ficial meadows.

EXPERIMENTS have been made, but without fuc-
cefs, to make Saint-foin, Trefoil, Hemp, Flax, and
Hops grow here.

You will obfcrvCj that our vegetables in general
degenerate hefe^ and that thofe who1 wifh to have
them good, are fupplied every year with feed from
Europe, or the Cape of Good-Hope. The fmall
peas are tough, and taftelefs •, the French beans are
hard ; there is a. fort larger, and more tender; called
Cape-peas ; it is worth tranfplanting to France.
Another fort of bearis which they barrel, they chop
the hufks to pieces, and drefs them as peas. There
is another kind of bean (with a pod a foot long) whicli
they plant and form arbours of. The grain is very
large, but of no fort of tife.

ARTICHOAKS grow here, their leaves are very
large, and the .fruit but finall. The Cwdoon * i3
always tough here j but being alfo very prickly^
and growing to a great height^ it makes very good
hedges.

THE Giromon, is a pumpkin, not fo large as our;,-
and if polfible, of a more infipid tafte. The cu-
cumber is fmaller, and not fo plentiful as in Europe.
The melons here are good for nothing, altho' much
boafled of on account of their fcarcity . The Pajlrqm ,
<Dr Watcr-mdon, is forriethinp- better than the other.

* A kind pf thift}?, — there is one fort of rhis pfcnt that is
io falfu.t. T.

I Th»

I14 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRAXCS.

'I 'he climate fuits thcfe fruits very well \ but the
loomin?fs of the foil, is againft them. Gourds grov/
here to an enormous iize, and are of particular uti-
lity ; they ferve the Blacks for plates and difhe:.

THE Rriugella or Aubergine, is of 'two forts ; the
one bears a fmall, round and yellow fruit, and has a
very prickly flem •, it comes IromMr.dagufcar. The
other, which is known in Paris, is a violet-coloured
fruit, cf the.fize and form of a large fig. \Vhen ihh
fruit is well fenfcned and boiled, it is not bad eatinr.

' O

THERE are two forts of pepper -, that known in
Kurope, and another natural to this place •, it is a
ihrub bearing very fmall fruit, that mine like fo ma-
ny grains of coral upon the mofl beautiful green fo-
liage imaginable. The Creoles ufe it in ail their HI-

*— ^ ^_>

gouts. It is itronger than any other kind of pepper,
and will burn like a cauitick. They call it ir.ad
pepper.

THE Pine- Apple, the mod beautiful of all fruits, for
the variegated colouring of its fcaly rind, for its pur
pL- creit, and for its fragrant frr.cll, v/hicii is like tlu:
of aviolet, never ripens here perfectly. Its juice is very
.jold, and prejudicial to the ftomach. Its bark is
on the contrary very hot, and taltes like pepper ^
perhaps as corrective of the juice. Nature fre-
quently contrails the qualities of the fame fubject -, —
the bark of the citron is of a hot nature, the juice of
a cooling ; — the rind of the pomegranate is aftringent,
t!i- keds are laxative. &c.

STRAWBERRIES begin to thrive in the cool parts.
They have neither the fragrancy nor the Iweetnels of
ours i they yield but Sparingly, any more than the
rafberries, which are imich degenerated. There is a

fpecies

VOYAGE to tbe ISLE OF FRANCE. 115

fpecies of them from China, very beautiful, and in
great plenty, which grow to the iize of cherries, but
have neither taile nor fmell.

iGE is fcarce here. Garden crefles, forrel,
chtrville, parily, fennel, and ccllery, have ftringy
it*ms, and are raifed with great difficulty. Leeks,
lettuce, endif, and collifiowers, are fmaller, but not
ib tender as ours. Cabbage, the moil ufeful of all
vegetables, and which is found in all parts, thrives
very well here. Burnet, purflain, and fage, grow in
abundance •, but efpecially the Capitdne which grows
upon large efpaliers, and is very long lived.

ASPARAGUS is not much larger than a packthread,
and has degenerated in tafle as well as in bulk, and
fo have carrots, parfnips, turneps, fafafras, and ra-
difhes, which are of a biting taftc. There is, how-
ever, a nidifh from China, that grows very well here.
The beet-root grows beautifully, but is very fticky.
Potatoes, JsLnum Amernanum, are not bigger here
than nuts. The Indian ones, called Cambar, fre-
quently weigh above a pound a-piece ; their fkin is
of a beautiful violet-colour, but within they are very
white and taftelefs •, they however, ferve for food for
the blacks. They increafe very faft, as well as the
Jerufalem artichoak, fome forts of which are prefer-
able to our chcfnuts. ' Saffron is an herb that tinges
the ragouts with yellow, as do the ftamina of the
European kind. The ginger here, is net fo hot as
that of India. What is called here, the Piftachia-nut,
which is not the fruit of the piitachia-tree, is a (mall
almond, that grows in the ground in a wrinkled fhtll.
It is plealant eating when roaited, but is hard of di-
geition. They cultivate it here, in order to extract
oil for burning. This plant is a fort of phenomenon
in botany, it being uncommon for vegetables that

n6 VOYAGE to tie ISLE or FRANCE.

yield fruit of an unctuous nature, to bear them be-
low the furface of the ground.

CHIVES, leeks, an-d onions are fmaller than .in
France, and even than in the Iik of Bourbon, which
is fo near.

AMONG the plants of the flower garden, I fhall fpeak
firft of our own, and then of thofe of Alia, and
Africa^

THE tuberofe, larksfoot, the large daify of Chiraa,,
pinks of a Imall fpeciesr flourifh here as in Europe ;
large pinks, and lillies bear a number of leaves, but
ieldom flowers.. The anemony, ranunculus, Indian-
pink, and rofe, do not thrive here, any more than
the July-flower, or poppy. I faw no otixr flo \vcrs
that we kaow of in Europe among the curious, ex-
cept the above-mentioned. Many people have at-
tempted,, but in vain,, to tranlplant hither, thyme,
lavender, the field-daify, violets, and wild-poppy,
the red of which, with the azure of the blue-bell, lo.
beautifully decorate our golden harvcfts. Oil ! hap-
py France ! a corner of whole fields, is, in my eyes,,
more defirable, thna the molt beautiful garden this
iiland affords..

AMONG the flowering-plants of Africa, I know but
one, tiizbd'.eimmorteile of the Cape, thefteds of which
are as large and red as ftrawben ies, and grow in a.
clufter at the top of a Item, the leaves of which are
like pieces of grey cloth ; — another immortelle^ with:
purple flowers, grows all over the iflahd ; a reed, the
fize of a horfe-hair, which bears a group of leavY.;,,
•white jn the infide, and .violet-coloured without : at
a diftahce, that bouquet appears in the air ; it comes
from the. Cape, as does ailb a fort of tulip, baring

but

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 117

but two leaves, which lie upon the ground, and feem
to adhere to it : a Chinefe plant that fows itfelf, and
bear; little flowers like roles -, upon its ftem there
are five or fix, variegated alike, from a deep blood-
red to the brighteil fcarJet. None of thefe flowers
have any fmell, and thofe which are known to have
it in Europe, lofe it on their being traniplanted hi-
ther.

ALOES fiourim here. Their leaves turn to good
account, — the fap of them afford a medicinal gum,
and the threads are very fit for a manufacture of
cloth. They grow upon the rocks, and in the parts
fcorched by the fun. The one grows out in leaves,
ilrong, thick, and as large as a man, and is armed
with a long fhaft : from the center grows a ftem as
high as a tree, furnifhed with flowers, from which
drops gum-aloes in a perfect ftate. The others are
upnghr, like tapers, feveral fpans high, and have a
number of very marp prickles about them : thefe laft
are marbled, and referable ferpents that crawl upon
the oround.

O

NATURE feems to have treated the Africans and
Alutics as barbarians, in having given them thefe
at. once magnificent, yet monftrous vegetables, and
to. have dealt with us as beings capable of fenfibi-
lity and fociety. Oh ! when {hall I bieath the
perfumes of the honeyfuckle ? again repofe myfelf
upon a carpet of milk-weed, fafiron, and blue-bells,
the food of our lowing herds ? and once more hear
Aurora welcomed by the fongs of the Labourer,
bleffcd with freedom and content.

PcRT-Louis, Ifle of France, May 29, 1769.

L E T-

n8 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

LETTER XIV.

S H R U B S and T R E E S brought to the I fie of

France.

H E rofe-tree thriv.es fo well here, that hedges
H are made of it-, but the flowers are not fo tuft-
ed, nor is the fmcll Ib fine as ours.-, there is of diffe-
rent forts, among which, a fmall one from China, is
in bioom all the year round. The jeffamines of Spain
and France are perfectly naturalized in this foil •, thofe
of Afia, I mail ipeak of in tfceir place. There are
pomegranate-trees with a double flower, and with
iruit upon them, but they are good for little. The
myrtle does not grow fo beautiful here as in Provence.
Thefe are all the fthubs from Europe.

THOSE from Afia, Africa, and America, are, the
is * with a fcalloped leaf ; it is not at all like ours,

a large fhrub, overgrown with yellow flowers of a
llrong fmell, that look like fmall tufts : it yields a
bean, with the grain of which they dye black. Being
prickly, it makes good hedges.

THE FmC fa-pat ie-\, an Indian word, fignifying the
Sl.Qemaker'>s fljwer ± its flower rubbed upon leather,

* Bla^k currant bufh.

f I flvuld ratnef fuppofe it a corruption of the Prrtugurze namr,
in which language, Fro/ de Zapafe, or de Z.oiaterot fignifies, the
flioe-fiower, or the Ihoemnker's iiower, 2f.

flains

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE, 119

ftains it black. The foliage of this fhrub is of a
beautiful green, and larger than that of the yoke-
elm •, in the middle of which glitter the flowers like
pinks, but of a deep red. They have nurferies of this
fhrub, of which there are various forts.

THE PointiHad:\ originally fron America, is a
fpecies of bramble, bearing girandoles of yellow and
red flowers, from which (hoot tufts of a flame-colour.
This flower is very beautiful, but foon fades-, it yields
a bean. Its leaves are divided like that of all
leguminous fhrubs.

JALOP bears flowers fhaped like a funnel, of a
crirnfon red ; they blow only in the night, and have
a fmell like the tuberofe. I have feen two forts of
their,

THE Vine of Madagafcar, is a rattan of which they
make cradles ; it gives a yellow flower. Its downy
haves feem as if covered with meal.

THE Mougr'n is ajeflamine, with a flower like the
orange-tree. Some have double^ and fome {ingle
flowers, of a very agreeable fmell.

THE Franchipanier is dill another jeflfamine, that
grows in the form of ftagwood ; from the extremity
of thefe homes fprout bunches of long leaves, in the
center of which are large white flowers, fhaped like a
funnel, and of a charming fmell.

o

THE Indian Lilaih^ grows here, and dies foon j its
leaf is fcolloped, and of a beautiful green. It is
loaded with clutters of flowers, which have a pleafint
fmell enough, and turn to feed. This flirub riles to
tjie height of a tree, and in a handfome form •, its

I 4 green

120 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

green is finer, but the flowers not fo beautiful as
thofe of our lilach, which does not grow here.

THE Pepper-tree is a rattan, or tiajme^ which creeps
along the ground like ivy •, it ihoots well, but yields
no fruit. It is not yet known whether the foil will
agree with the tea-tree, which has been brought hi-
ther from China, as well as the rattan, — this laftis ufcd
as commonly in India, as the ofier is in Europe.

THE Cotton-tree grows in the dried parts of the
ifland, like a fhrub, it bears a pretty yellow flower,
to which fucceeds a pod, containing the flocks.
Cotton is not cultivated here, for want of mills to.
grind it : and till ground it is not an article of
commerce.

THE Sugar-cane ripens here in perfection ; the
inhabitants make an indifferent fort of liquor of it,
which they call flan?ourin. There is but one fugar-
houfe in the \vhole ifland.

THE Coffee-tree is the moft ufeful plant of any that
grows here.- It is a fpecies of jeflfamine, its flower is
w/ute, leaves of fine green, fhaped like laurel-leaves,
and are oppofed to each other. It's fruit is a red
olive, like a cherry,, which feparates into two beans.
They plant them at feven feet and a half ^-hinder,
and when they grow as high as fix feet, they crop
them. 'It lives feven years only, arid when three
years old is in its prime. The annual produce of
each tree is valued at one pound of berries. A black
can. attend to one thoufand feet of thefe in a year,
exclufive of what elfe he cultivates for his own fub-
fillence. The ifland does not yet produce coffee
enough for it's own confumption. The inhabitants
reckon it to be next to the Mocha coffee in quality.

AMONQ

VOYAGE to ibe ISLE OF. FRANCE. 121

AMONG the trees of Europe, the pine, the fir,
the oak grow to a middling ftature, and then
decay. I have alfo feen here cherry, apricot, med-
lar, apple, pear, olive, and mulberry- trees •, but
without fruit, though ibme of them had flowers.
The fig-tree produces a tolerable fruit. The vine
does not fucceed upon props \ but when in arbours,
bears grapes, which, like thofe in the gardens of
Alcinous, ripen one part after another :* a good vin-
tage cannot therefore be expected. The peach-tree
gives fruit enough, and well tafced, but they are ne-
ver lufcious. There is a white louie that deitroys
them.

THESE trees are conftantly full of fap -, burying
them in the ground might perhaps be of ufe to re-
tard their vegetation. It is as neceffary here to pro-
tect them from heat, as from the cold in the North of
Germany. Thefe trees lofe their leaves in what is
called the cold fcafon, that is, when it is fummer
with you •, notwithftanding, the heat and moifturc
are equal to what you have in the fpring : there muft
thereiore be ibme latent caufe of vegetation of whicli
we are -ignorant.

FOREIGN trees, brought here for curiofity only,
are the laurel, which thrives very well j as does alfo
the dgaibis of various forts, the leaves of which are
fcolloped ; it bears bunches of flowers, white and
ftreaked, to which fucceed long leguminous pods.
The Chinefe frequently reprcfent this fhrub in their
landfcapes.

* In Europe the fruits of the fame tree are ripe nearly at the
fame time ; here 'tis quite the contrary, they grow ripe in aregu.
1 -:r fucceflion ; which caufes a remarkable difference in the taftr
pi fjaait3 gathered from one and the fame tree ,

THE

122 VOYAGES to tie ISLE OF FRAKCS.

• THE Polcle comes from India; it's foliage is tuft-
ed, the leaf is in the fhape of an heart. It affords a
pleafant made, and anfwers no other purpofe, it's
fruit being fticky and good for nothing. — It is in
the form of a medlar.

THE Bawb'-w at a diftance, looks like out willow.
'Ti-s a reed which grows as high as the talkfb trees,
and (hoots out branches, furmfhed with leaves like
thofc of the olive : They make the mod delightful
avenues, in which the wind murmurs incerTantly. It
grows fail, and its canes may be applied to the fame
ufes as the branches of ofier. There are many India
pictures in which this reed is badly enough reprc-
fehtcd.

THE fruit-trees are the Attier, whole triangular
flower, of a folid fubftance, taftes like the piftachia-,
its fruit is like a pine-apple : when it is ripe it is full
of a white and fweetifh cream, which fmclls 1 ke the
orange-flower. It is full of black kernels : the Atie *
is veiy pleafant, but being very heating, foon cloys,
and gives a pain in the ftomach to thole who eat it.

THE Mavgo is a very beautiful tree : The Indi-
ans often reprefent it upon their painted filks. It
is covered with fupcrb girandoles of flowers like the
Indian chefnut. To thefe fucceed a great number
of fruits, fhaped like a large flat plumb, covered
with a rind which fmells like turpentine^ This
fruit has a vinous and agreeable t-afle ; andx but
for its fmell. might vie with the bed fruits of Europe.
It is never prejudicial to thofe who eat it, and I
fhould think, a wholefome and pleafant' drin^ might

*The jitte, or Ata, is the name gi.cn by French naturalifts to
the fruit of the cinnamon- tree. T.

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 123

be made from it. This tree has. one inconvenience
attending it— being covered with fruit at the time
of the hurricanes, which ftrip it of the greater
part.

THE Bar/af/a-titc grows every where. It has no
wcod, cr flock -, being only a tuft of flowers, which
fpi-ing up in columns, and blow at the top in
lar£;e and long leaves, of a beautiful fattiny green.
At the end of a year, there Lilies from the fummit a
Jong flem, all hung with fruit in the form of a cu-
cumber ; two of thele ftems are a load for a black ;
this fruit, which is mealy, is alib pleafant and very
nutritive. The blacks are very fond of it ; and it is
given to them on the firft of January, as a new year's
gift ; they count their years of ibrrqw by the number
of Banana fealts they have regaled at. Linen cloth
might be made of the thread of the banana-tree. The

O

fhape of the leaves like Belts of filk, the length of
its Item, the upper part of which hangs down from
the height of a man, and whofe violet-colour at the
end, gives it the look of a ferpent's head, may have
occafioned its being called by the name of Adam's
iig-tree. This fruit lafts all the year •, there are ma-
ny forts of it -, from the fize of a plumb, to the
length of a man's arm.

o

THE Gouyava-trcs is fomething like a medlar. Its
flower is white, and its fruit fmells like a bug. It is
aftringent, and is the only fruit of this country, in
which IJiave found worms.

THE Jam-rofe is a tree which affords a very fine
made, though it does not grow high. It bears a
fruit of a fmell Hke a rofe-bud, and of a fweetifh,
but infipid tafte.

THE

124 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

THE P<?p<7, is a kind of fig-tree without branches.
It grows fafl, and rifes like a pillar, with a capital
of large leaves. From its trunk flioots out a fruit
like a fmall melon, of an indifferent tafte : the feeds
tafte like crefles. The body of this tree is of a
jubilance like a turnep. The female Papa bears
flowers, only -r in form and fmell as agreeable as the
honeyfuckle.

THE Badavrer is of a form that feems calculated
purpofeiy for a (rude. It rifes like a very fine -py-
ramid, in different (lories, diftinct and fepara^e from
each other. Its foliage is very fine, and it yields
almonds which are > well tailed.

THE Accc'-' is a handfome tree enough. It bears
a pear (which cnclofes a large ilonej of a fubftance
like butter. When it is fealoned with fugar and cit-
ron juice, it is not bad to eat ; though it is heating.

THE *Jaca is a tree of a beautiful foliage, but the
fruit it beers is a monftrous one. 'Th as big as a
.laj'gc pumpkin, and, has a rind that is green, and fha-
greencd all over. It is full of feeds -, the outfide,
which is a white fkin, fweet and clammy, is good
to eat, but has an ugly fmell, like that of rotten
cheefe. This fruit is aphrodiiiac, and the women
here ari paiTionately fond of it.

THE Tamarind-tree has a beautiful head ; its
leaves are oppofed to each other on one fide, and
clofe at night, like moft other leguminous plants.

It's pod contains a mucilage which makes excellent

"i * j
lemonade.

ORANGE-TREES are of many forts, among them
is one yielding an orange called a mandarine. A

large

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 12^

large kind of Pamplemouffe^ of a red colour, and
but middling tafte. A citron * that bears very
large fruit, but with little juice in it.

THE Cocoa-tree is planted here, 'tis a kind of
palm, which thrives in the fand : this is one of the
•molt ufeful trees in the Indian trade, though it af-
fords nothing elie than a bad fort of oil, and ca-
bles as bad in their kind. It is reckoned at Pondi-
cheny that each cocoa-tree is worth a pi Hole a yean
Travellers fpeak much in praife of its truit -, but our
flax will ever be preferred to cotton, for making
cloth, our wines to its liquor, and our Slberds to its
nut.

THE Cocca-tree fiourimes fo much the beft near
iah-warks, that fait is always put in the hole, where-
in the fruit is fown, to facilitate the blowing of the
bud £. The cocoa feems defigned to float in the
lea, by the wad which furrounds it, and helps to
bear it up, and by the hardnefs of its fhcll, impene-
trable to the water. It does not open by a joint, as
our nuts do, but the juice comes out at one of the
three orifices which nature has contrived at its extre-
mity, and has afterwards covered with a cuticle.
Cocoa-trees have been found upon the borders of the
fea in defart iQands, and even upon flioals of fand.
This, is the kind of palm which fringes the banks of

• Cntted by the Eoglifti in the Eaft-lndies, Pompkmcfe, and
in the Weft-Indies, Shaddock. T.

\ In th«fe parts of" the Eafl-Tndies, where fill are in plenty, a
quantity of the refule of them is laid about the bottom of every
tocua-tree. But this practice is very prejudicial to the health of the
inhabitants ; — the ifland of Bombay was the molt unwholfome of
all our Iculcments, till a iloj was put to the corruption of the air
by this animal piurefaftion, and the natives now have rtcourfe to
feme Id* pdlifciioas nutiurc for their cccja tree;. T.

126 VOYAGE to tie ISLE or FRANCE.

the rivers between the tropics, as the fir does thoic of
the north, and the date, thole of the burning moun-
tains of Palefcinc.

I THINK I am not deceived, in laying that the
cocoa is calculated to float upon the lea, and to fow
itfelf afterwards in thefands. Every feed has its own
peculiar method of propagating itfelf \ but aninveiti-
gation of this matter, would make me diprefs too

D O

much from the fubjecl. I may, perhaps fome day
or other undertake it, and when ever I do, it will be
with del:ght. The ftudy of Nature compenfates for
our difappointments in the ftudy of mankind, as we
cannot but trace throughout the whole, the harmony
with which Intelligence and Beneficence unite to ren-
der the fyftem compkrat. But if it were pofEble,
thatwefhould bedecuved even in this; — if all things
by which mankind is furrounded, were combined to
diftract him •, at leaft, let our errors, be errors of our
own choofing, and let us give the preference to thole
which afford confolation, rather than excite diiguil.

THOSE who imagine that Nature in raifmg fo high
the heavy fruit of the cocoa- tree, has loll fight of
that law which decrees the pumpkin to creep upon
the groun^, do not confidcr that the head of the
cocoa-tree is but fmall, arid can therefore afford but
little made. 'Tis under the leaves of the oak, nun
leek a meher. from the fun's fcorching rays. V.'hy
not rather obferve, that in India, as in Europe, thoie
trees which bear a mellow fruit are but of a middling
height, that in falling it may not be destroyed ; en
the contrary, thofe producing fruit of a hard nature,
as the cocoa, chefnut, acorn, and nut, are lofty,
their fruit being not liable to be damaged by fall-
ing to the ground ? Moreover, the trees that are
fu mimed \yith a number of leaves yield as- well in

India

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 127

India as in Europe, a defirable fhelter without dan-
ger. There are Ibme, as for inftance, the Jaca,
which bear, fruits of a very great fize ; but then they
bear them near to the trunk, and within reach of the
hand : thus, Nature, which man is ever accufing of
imprudence, has contrived with equal bounty for his
Iheltcr, and his nourifhment.

A KIND of crab has been lately difcovered to bur-
row at the foot of the cocoa-tree. Nature has pro-
vided this animal with a long claw, at the end of
which is a nail, ierving to extract the fubftance of
the fruit by the holes I have defcribed. It lias nor
die large pincers of other crabs-, — they would be ufe-
ku to it. This animal is found upon the Ifle of
1'alms, to the northward of Madagalcar, discovered
in i / 69, by the fhipwrcck of the Henr<.ux^ which
was loft there in goino; to Benral.

DO *->

AT the ifle of Secbelie, there is juft difcovered a
tree bearing double cocoa-nuts, Ibme of which weigh
upwards of forty pounds. The Indians attribute
great virtues to it. They believe it to be a produc-
tion of the fea, becaufe the currents formerly threw
fome of them upon the coaii .cf Malabar, They
call it \.\\.z fea-cccoa. This fruit, mu/i^ris corforis bt-
Jurca'unem cum natura <y pi Its reprcefeniat. Its leaf,
ihaped like a fan, will cover half a houfe. Order is
obkrvable in every work of nature, — the tree which
bears this enormous fruit, bears three or four only at
the mod : the common cocoa-tree bears bundles of
more that thirty •, I have tatted both, and think their
flavour very much alike. • They have planted the
lea-cocoa in the .ille of France, and it begins to bud.

7 D

THERE are flill fome other tr.es, which though cu-
rious, are of little or no uk-, r.s the Lat", which fel-

223 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

dom bears fruit ; the Palm, which is called here the'
Araque ; and that which produces fago. The Cane-
ficier, and the Cujboe, bear flowers, but no fruit.
The Canellier, (of which I have feen avenues) like a
pear-tree in growth and leaves. Its little bunches of
flowers fmell like excrement. Its cinnamon has very
little of the aromatic. There is only one cacao-tree*
in the ifland ; and the fruits of this never ripen ±
They mould bring thither \hzmu(cadine and the clui-t-\ .
Time will decide as to the fuccefs of theie trees,
tranfplanted from under the Line to 20 deg. or"
latitude.

SOME time ago, were planted here, layers of the
Ravinefara, a fpecies of the mujcadine of Madagascar;
of the Mangoutian and the Litcbi^ which are laid to
produce the fined fruit in the world ; the Verms^
whence is extracted an oil to preferve furniture ; the
tallow-wood, its feeds are impregnated with a kind of
wax -, a tree from China, which bears citrons in
bunches, like raifms -, the filver tree of the Cape ;
and laftly, the '/"Vry^-wood, nearly equal to the oak
for buiding of mips. The greater part of thefe trees
vegetate here with difficulty.

THE climate of this iiland feems too cold for the
trees of Afia, and too hot for thole of Europe. Pliny
obferves, that the temperament of the air is more
necerTary for the culture of plants, than the qualities
of the loil i and fays, that in his time, pepper and
citron-trees were leen in Italy, and incenfe- trees in
Lydia -y but that they merely vegitated. I am how-
ever of opinion, that the coffee-tree might be natu-
riJiied in the fouth of France, for it delights in a

* The tree of whofe fruit chocolate is made, 7*.
\ They nv.re bxough: in 1770.

VOYAGE to the ISLE of FRANCE. 129

cool and temperate air. Thefe expenfive experi-
ments can fcarcely be carried on by any but Prin-
cjs ; and yet, the acquifition of one plant unknown
before, is a circumftance, by which a whole nation
may be benefited. To what purpofe have been ail
the wars upon our Continent ? Of what confequence
is it now-a-days, that Mithridates was once conquer-
ed by the Romans, and Montezuma by the Spani-
ards ? Unlefs forne benefit accrue. Europe might
v/ith rcaibn, weep over her unprofitable trophies \
but whole provinces in Germany fubfift upon po-
tatoes brought from America, and cur fair ladies
are indebted for the cherries they eat, to Lucullus.
The deicrt was indeed coftly •, but for this, our
-fore-fathers paid. Let us be wifer,— let us colled
ton-ether the good things which nature has fcattered

o o G

abroad,

IF labour mould ever become necefiary for my
health, I will make a garden after the Chinefe fa-
fhion ; — the fituation they delight in, is on the banks
of a river; — th^y chufe an irregular piece of
ground, on which are old trees, large rocks, and
rifing hills. They form round it a boundary of
rugged rocks, placed upon one another, fo that their
junctures cannot be perceived. Hereori grow clumps
of / olopendria, tendrils with blue and purple flowers,
and borders of mofs of different colours. A ftream of
water meanders among thefe vegetables, whence it
efcapes in cafcades. Health and enjoyment are
diffufed over fuch a fpot as this, while the Eu-
ropean's garden prefents him with no other view but;
that of a dreary brick-wall.

OF the hollow grounds they make pieces of
Water, which they flock with fifh, furround with

K banks

1,30 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

.hanks of turf, and plant with trees. They are
particularly careful that no level fpot or ftrait
line fhall appear ; nur any mafonry ; How oitcn
does the fancied ikill of the artift, mar the iim-
plicity of Nature's handy work ?

THE plain is diverfifkd v/ith tufts of flowers,
and walks of green fed, in which fruit-tret s are
planted.. The fides ot the hills are variegated
with clumps of fhrub:;, fome bearing fruit, others
flowers •, the furnmit is crowned \vith trees whole
Spreading branches afford a p leafing retreat from
the parching rays of the fun.

THERE are no flrait walks, difcovermg to you
every object at once ; but winding paths, which
open them 10 your view in an agreeable fucceflion.
Nor are their objects, ftatues, or vales, ulciefs, as
they are large •„ — but a vine bending under a load
of ripening grapes, and adorned \vidi rofe-bufhes,
ajid other ilowers - — the mind is at the fame time
delighted with a fonnet or epigram upon the bark
of an orange-tree, — or a philoiophicai maxim upon
a piece of broken rock.

THIS garden is not an orchard, — > a park, — a
lawn, — but an agreeable affemblage of them all; —
'tis itfelf a country, with hills, woods, and plains,
where each object contributes to the perfection of
the whole. A Chineie has no more idea of a re-
gular garden, than he has of cutting " a flowering
Ih-rub into the fquared form of a cheft of tea.

TRAVELLERS fay, that there is no leaving thefe
delightful retreats, but with a kind of regret ; for
my part, I would enhance the plea-fares of them,

by

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE, 131

by the focicty of an amiable woman, and by hav-
ing in my neighbourhood fuch a friend as your-
felf.

PoRT-Louis, July 10, 1769.

LETTER XXV.

ANIMALS brought to the Ifle of France.

SUCH pains have been taken for the improve-
ment of this colony, that even foreign fifties
have been imported to it ; the Gourami comes from
Batavia, 'tis a frefh-water fim, like a falmon, but of
a finer flavor, being reckoned the bed fim that is
eaten in India. The Chinefe Gddfijh is brought here,
but loies its beauty as it increases in bulk. Thefe
two fpecies breed very faft in the ponds and lakes.

IT has been attempted, but without fuccefs, to
bring frogs here, that they might eat the eggs which
the mufquito lays upon the iurface of the Handing
waters.

BUT a bird has been brought from the Cape, that
is of infinite fervice, they call it the Gardner's Friend.
It is brown, the fize of a large iparrow, and lives
upon worms, mails, and fmall ferpents, which it not
only eats when preflcd by hunger, but makes an

K 2 ample

132 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

ample (lore of, by flicking them upon the prickles
of the hedges. I have feen but one of them, which,
though deprived of its liberty, retained the manners
of its kind, and fufpended the meat which was given
it, upon the wires of its cage*

A BIRD that has multiplied very faft in the ifland.
is the martin^ a fpecies of the Indian fttnjonnet *, wiih
a yellow beak and claws. It differs but little from
ours, except in plumage, which is lets fpotted. In
chirping, however, as well as in an aptitude to talk,
and to mimic other birds, it perfectly refembles the
European. It will perch upon, and peck at beafts
without fear, but the prey it purfues with an unwea-
ried perfeverance, is the grafshopper, numbers of
which fpecies are deftroyed by it. The martins al-
ways fly in pairs, and afiemble conflantly at fun-fet
in flocks of fome thoufands. After a general chirp-
ing, the whole republic fall afleep,*and at day break,
again dilperle by pairs to the different quarters of the
ifland. This bird is not fit to eat j yet they arc
fometimes mot, though mooting them is prohibited.
Plutarch relates, that the lark was adored at Lem-
nos, beCaufe it eat and deftroyed the grafshoppers-
eggs : but we are not Grecians.

SEVERAL pairs of ravens were let loofe in the
woods to deftroy the rats and mice. Three cocks
are all that are left of them. The people accufed
them of killing their fowls, and herein were at
once accufers, judges and executioners.

THE ravages of the Cape bird cannot be denied,
*tis a fpecies of fmall tann-\-y and is the only inhabitant

' * Called by fome the Starling, by Others the Fijkin. T.

•f- A kind of lark, — 'tis a bird well known in France* and ad-
mired for its fong— and aptitude to talk. 7*.

of

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 133

of thefe forefts that is heard to fmg. They were
brought here firft as curiofities, but fome of them
cicaped to the woods, where they breed very faft,
and live upon the fpoils of the harveft. Govern-
ment gives a reward to any body that kills one.

THERE is a beautiful titmoufe here, with a num-
ber of white fpecks on the wings •, and the cardinal
whofe head, neck, and belly, at a particular feafon,
are of a lively red ; the reft of its plumage is of a
pearl-coloured grey. — This bird comes from Bengal.

THERE are three forts of partridges, all fmaller
than ours. The cry of the male refembles that of
a cock when hoarfe ; they rooft at night upon the
trees, for fear of the rats.

THEY have put in the woods fome -pmtadces *,
and Chinefe pheafants, and into the lakes fome geefe
and wild ducks *: They have alfo tame ducks here,
efpecially the Manilla ones, which are very beau-
tiful ; and European barn-door fowls •, a fpecies of
fowl from Africa, whofe flefh and bone are black ;
a fmall fpecies of fowl from China, the cocks of
which are very fierce and bold, and for ever a
fighting with the Indian cocks. I faw one of them
attack a large Manilla duck, which feized the lit-
tle champion with its beak, and fmothered it with
its belly and claws : and although the cock is fome-
times drawn half dead from this perilous fituation,
it will return to the charge with redoubled fury.

MANY people make a great deal of money of their
poultry, on account of the fcarcity of other provifi-

* So called by the Spaniards, from the beauty of its plumage,
which feems as if painted. Jt is believed by fome to be thcStorm
Bud, or Proc.tlla.ria Caf(njjst 17'.

K 3 ons.

134 V OY A G E to the ISLE OF FRANCS.

ons. Pigeons fucceed well, and are the befl birds
of flight in the ifland. They have alfo brought two
fpecies of turtles, and of hares.

THERE are in the woods wild goats, wild hogs,
and efpecially flags, which had multiplied to fuch
a degree, that whole fquadrons were fupplied with
veniibn tor provifions. Their flefli is very good,
efpecially during the months of April, May, June,
July and Auguit. Some of them have been taken
when young, and brought up tame ; but they will
not breed in that ftate.

AMONG thofe that we may call the domeftic
quadrupeds, are fheep that fatten and lofe their
wool, goats that thrive prodigioufly, and oxen of
the Madagafcar breed, that have a great wen up-
on their neck ; the cows of this breed give but
very little milk •, thofe from Europe give much
more, but their calves degenerate. , I faw once,
two cows and two bulls from Bengal, which were
no bigger than an afs. This breed did not fuc-
ceed.

BUTCHERS meat is fometimes not to be got.
Pork is the fubftitute on thefe occafions, and is
better than our's in Europe ; notwithstanding which,
it will not fait to keep, on account of the fall's
being too fharp or acid. The female of this ani-
mal, is fubje6t in this iiland to bring forth mon-
ftejs. I was once lliewn a little pig, preferved in
fpirits, the fnout of which was produced in the
manner of an elephant's trunk.

HORSES are very dear, and by no means fine
pnes. A common horfe cannot be bought for lefs
than a hundred piftoles. They fall to decay very

foon

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 135

loon at the Port, from the exceflive heat. They
never are mod, though the ifland is fo rocky.
Mules are rarely feen. The afies are fmall, and but
few in number. The afs would be a truly ufeful
animal in this country, as it would lighten the fevere
labours of the poor negroes. Every load, how
heavy foever, is carried on the heads of the flaves.

A SHORT time fmce, two beautiful wild afies were
brought from the Cape, a male and female,-- -they
were of the fize of a mule, and flriped on the
moulders like the zebra, from which, however,
they differed in other refpecls. Thefe animals,
though young, were not to be tamed.

THE breed of cats degenerates greatly on this
ifland, they grow lean and thin flanked. The rats
fcarcely fear them, — the dogs are therefore the rat-
catchers, and my Favorite has often diftinguifhed
himfelf in this fervice. I have feen him flrangle the
largeft rat of the fouthern hemifphere. The dogs
at the long run, lofe their hair and their fenfe of
fmelling ; but it is faid that they never go mad here.

PoRT-Louis, July 15, 1769.

K 4 LET-

136 VOYAGE to'tbe'lsLE OF FRANCE;

L E T T E R XVI.

TOUR THROUGH THE ISLAND.

MONSIEUR de Chazal, Councillor, and M lc
Marquis d'Albergaty, both of them fond of
Natural Hiftory, propofed to me ibme time fmce, to
go and fee a famous cavern about a league and a half
from hence. We embarked upon the Great River,
which, like the other rivers of this iftand, is not na-
vigable for floops, above a mufquet mot from its
mouth. A fmail fettkment is eftablifhed, there con-
fifting of an hoipital and. a few itorehoufes ; and
here alfo- begins the aquasduct that fupplies the town
with water. Upon a little height, in the form of a
fugar-loaf,. there is a kind, of fort to defend the bay.

AFTER crofilng the Great-River, we took a guide,
and walked through the woods weftward, for near
three quarters of an hour. It was not long before we
came to the entrance of the cavern, which Teemed like
the hole of a cave, the vault of which had fallen in.
Many roots of the MHPOU grow perpendicularly down
it, and barr up a part of the entrance. The head of
an ox was nailed in the center.

WE breakfailed before we defcended this abyfs.
After which, .we- lit flambeaux and candles, and fur-
niihed ourielvcs with tinder-boxes to ftrike fire, if
necefTary.

WE

VOYAGE, to the ISLE OF FRANCE, 137

WE went about a dozen paces down the rocks
at the mouth of it, and then found ourfelves in a
vaft, and far more fpacious cave than I had ever
jeen before.

ITS vault is formed of a black rock.

ITS width was about thirty-feet, and its heighth,
twenty.

THE foil is very compact and adhelive, and is
covered with a fine earth.

ALONG each fide of the cavern, about breaft-high,
extends a large fillet with mouldings, which I fup-
pofe1 to be the work of the waters, which flow
down in the rainy feafon, of different heights •, —
the land, as well as river Ihells that we faw here,
confirm this conjecture. Yet the country people
fancy it to be the ancient crater of the volcano. It
rather appeared to me as having been the bed of
fome fubterranean river.

THE vaulted roof is covered with a fort of dry
mining varnim, or ftony concretion, which extends
itfeif to the fides, and in fome places, even to the
floor of the cave, and forms thereon ferruginous fta-
lactites, which broke and crackled under our feet,
as if we had been walking upon frozen mow.

WE walked on for fome time, and found the foil
perfectly dry, except at about three hundred paces
from the entrance, where a part of the roof is
mouldered away. The water had oozed through
in this place, and had fettled in different parts of the
ground beneath.

FROM

138 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

R OM thence the roof gradually lowered, 'till we
were at length obliged to go upon our hands and
knees ; being almoit (tifled with heat, I would go
no further. My companions being more curious,
more active, and in a proper delhabille, continued
their route.

As I returned, I difcovered a plant about the fize
of my finger, which hung to the roof by very fmall
jilaments. It was more than ten feet long, had nei-
ther branches nor leaves, nor did it appear to have
ever had either. It was unbroken at both ends, and
was filled with a kind of milky juice,

I returned to the entrance of the grotto, and fat
•down to breathe the freih air, and in a little time
fteard an inarticulate nolle, and then, by the light of
the flambeaux the Negroes carried, law my fellow-
travellers returning in their caps, nihnzs, and drawers,
Ib dirty and' fo red, that they looked like fo many
actors in an Englifh tragedy. They were bathed in
iweat, and all befmeared with this red earth, over
which they had crawled upon their bellies, without
being able to go- much farther than I had done.

THIS cavern chokes and fills up daily. Methinks,.
magnificent ftore-houfes might be conftrucled, by
snaking partition-walls to keep out the water,

WE returned home that evening, — This excurfion
made me defirous of another. I had been invited on
my firit arrival by Monfiteur de MefTin, who lives
about feven leagues from Port-Louis, upon the
Black-River, to fpend fome days at his houfc. As
his pirogue came every week to Port-Louis, I took
the opportunity of going in her on her return. — The

perogue

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 139

pirogue is a kind of boat cut out of a fmgle piece of
wood, and goes either with oars or fails,

WE embarked at midnight, and in about half an
hour rowed out of the harbour. The fea ran high,
and darned with great violence upon the breakers,
over which we were feveral times driven by the
furf, without knowing it. The night being very
dark, the mailer told me he would land, as he
thought it dangerous to proceed till day-light.

WE had gone, I fuppofe, about a league and a
half -, the blacks carried me to more on their
moulders ; after which they took two pieces of
wood, one of veloutier, the other of barxbou, and
kindled a light by rubbing them together. This
practice is very ancient -, Pliny tells us, it was in
ufe among the Romans, and that nothing is fo fit
for the purpofe of ftriking fire, as a piece of ivy-woo4
rubbed againft the laurel.

OUR people feated themfelves round the fire,
fmoaking their pipes, which are a kind of crucible
at the end of a long reed, and which they hand round
as they fit. I gave them fome Eau-de-Vie, then
wrapping myfelf in my cloak, went to fleep on the
fand.

AT five o'clock they called me to go on board
again. The day breaking, I faw the tops of the
mountains covered with thick clouds, which blew
along at a great rate ; the weather was hazy, and
the wind drove the fog along the vallies ; the main
fea grew white with foam, and the pirogue, carrying
both her fails, made a great way.

WHEN

I4o VOYAGE to the ISLF OF FRANCE.

WHEN we were at that part of the coaft called
ficr]-en-ji^cqj about a league and a half from land,
we, found a prodigious ihort and broken fea, with
fqualls of wind, fo violent as to oblige us to down
both our fails. The matter faid to me in hi; Patois
• jargon, " ('a tfctt pas bony Monfie." I aiked him, if
there was any danger, he aniwered me twice, " Si
uous rfa pas %a..iv mutlx. r, fa j'-<w." — In ihort. he told
rae, that a fortnight before, the pirogue had overies,

and drowned one of his comrades
s

IT was a lee-more, and fo covered with roeks,
that there was no pofiibility of landing ; and had we
pafled the iiland, we could not have made it again
without the utmofl difficulty. x\s we could nat
.carry fail* the men took to their can. The iky
grew more and more louring, which made it necef-
iary to haften as much as pofiibie. The men hav-
jno- drank fome eau-de-vie, pulled ftoutly, and by
dint of arms, and at the riik of being twer.tv
times overfet, we once more got into tolerable fmooth
water* and coafted along between the more and the
.tweakers..

the ftorm, the blacks were as eafy and
unconcerned as if they had been 'fate on more.
Their belief in Predeftination, and their indifference
for life, gives them a tranquillity, which all our boaft-
-ed philoibphy can never attain, to.

I LANDED about nine in the morning at the mouth
of the Great-River : M. de Meffm was agreeably
'furprized at the arrival of his pirogue, which he did
not exped that day, and received me with the utmolt
cordtaiity. His eftate includes all the valley through
which the river flows. — It is imperfectly defcribed
in the chart drawn by the Abbe de le Caille -,
he has omitted a branch of the mountain> on the

right-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

right-hand fhore, which extends towards the pro-
montory du Tamv.r. Moreover, the courfe of die
river is not ib ftrait as he reprefents it, for at a fhort
league's diftance from tlie mouth, it turns to the left
hand. This learned ailronomer having riven us a

#Jr

<ielcription of the out-line only of the ifland, I pro-
pofe to make additions to his plan*, according as the
information I procure in thele excurilons may furnifh
me with opportunity.

THERE is great plenty of every thing at Black-
.River-, of game, venifon, and both freih-water and
iea-fiih. While we were at dinner one day, a fervanr
came to tell us that iome lament 'ins -j- were ieen in the
bay, we ran down immediately •, they caft nets a-crcis
the entrance, and v/hen drawn a-fnore, we found a
great quantity of the fword-fifh, of fkait, two fea-
turtles, and other kinds of fiih j but the lamentins
were eicaped.

TH£ utmoft regularity and good order is obferved
in this, as in every other plantation I have been at.
The negroes cabbins are ranged in lines, like tents in
>a camp. Each man has a imall piece of ground al-
lotted him for growing tobacco and gourds •, — flocks,
and poultry, are bred in great numbers upon thefe
plantations. The harveils are plentiful, but receive
great damage from the fwarms of grafshoppers.

The convenience of commodities from thence to
the town, is inconvenient and hazardous, it being
impofllble for a carriage of any burden to get along
by land, the roads are fo bad ; and the wind being
in general contrary on the voyage from thence to the
Port.

f A kind of fea-cow.
* I wiih the author ha.i fufiulhed us with this plan. 5^

AFT-Si

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

AFTER a ftay of a few days, I determined to return1
to town by a tour over the plains de Vi.liams ± for
this purpole my hoft furnilhed me with a guide, and
a pair of piftols, left I mould meet with any of the
* Maron Negroes.

I fet out at two in the afternoon for Palma, the
plantation of M. de Cofligni, about three leagues off;
where I propofed to lay that night : there being none
but foot-paths over the rocks, I was obliged to walk.
When I had gone over the mountains of Black-River,
I found mvfelf in a vaft foreft, through which a nar-
row path only is grubbed up, and which paffes clofc
by a lonely houfe, the folitary retreat of a man, who
in France had fquandered a confiderabie fortune, and
who now drags on a wretched and mikrable life in
this gloomy deiart, without property ; the land round
his houfe not being his own, and without fociety,
except that of a few negroes, his (laves. As 1 palled,
he was fitting at his door, in his Ihirt and drawers
only, with his legs naked and his fleeves tucked up,
diverting himfelf with rubbing a monkey with the
juice of red mulberries, himielf being all over fmear-
ed therewith.

* The Dutch who came here in the year 1638, upon forming
a -fettlement, found themielves in want of flaves, for the cuJtiva-
tion of their lands, and applied to the French, who were fettled
on the ifland of Madagr.fcar, to fupply them with fome of the na-
tives from thence for this purpofe. The French complied, and
fold them fifty, whom they had taken by force from among the
inhabitants, 'i hefe, exafperated at the outrage, attacked, arid

maflacrcd the invaders. The poor people who had been lent in

the Mauritius, fled from their fervitude to the woods, from whence
they made fucli continual incurfions upon their former matters,
that at kngih they determined to quit the place, rather :han be
fubjeft to the dangers which coiiitahtly attended them. The
flaves were now the fole refiants ; fuch of their progeny as efcaped
the vigilance of Monfifurdela Bourdonnais, are the Maron ne-
groes, mentioned by the author. T.

FROM

VOYAGE to the ISI.E or FRANCE. 143.

FROM thence, about half an hour's walk brought
me to the fide of tamarind-river, whofe waters
flowed with a loud noife over a bed of rocks. My
black found a ford, and carried me over upon his
moulders. 1 law lr :";.; :v me the mountain of thni:
paps, which role to a very great height, and on the
other fide was the plantation of Palma.. My guide
periuadcd me to go along the fide of this mountain,
;:iiuring me that "we could not fail oi: finding die path
that led to the top. We got mute round it, after
having walked above an hour : but feeing the man
was at a lofs, I returned immediately, and again
reached the foot of the mountain, berore the iiui w-us
let. I was much fatigued, and very thirlly, and co-ukl
I have got water, would have paffed the night there,
But I determined otherwiie, and although there was
no fio-n of a path, bejjan to aicend the mountain thro"

O J- 4 7 O

the woods, being fometirnes forced to clamber ovrr
huge rocks, or to drag myleif along by the trees,
and at others, being fupporced by my black fervaiit,
who came after me. I had not walked half an hour,
before night came 0n, and was then without guide,
except the iteepnefs of the mountain. Not a breath
of wind was ihrring, the air was intenfeiy hot, — and
ready to faint with heat, fatigue, and tliiril, I lay
down feveral times, determining to ftay all nig.hr
where I was. At length, after an infinite deal of
trouble, I perceived that 1 afcended no longer. Soon,
afcr, a breeze from the fouth-eaft reffefhed me ex-
ceedingly, and the. appearance of fomc lights at &
diftance, afforded me an additional comfort. The
fide I had quitted was inveloped in total tlarknefs,

I NOW ^cgan to defcend, and frequently fliddovm
Upon my back, without being able to prevent it.
The noiie of a rivulet was. my only guide, and I at.
length reached it> very much bruifcd. Although in a

violent

144 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

violent perfpiration, I drank heartily, and having,
felt herbage under my hand, had the additional good
fortune to find fome water-creffes, of which I ate
feveral handfuls. I continued to approach the fire
I faw before me, carrying my piitols ready cocked
in my hand, fearing I might firfd an aflfcmbly of
Maron negroes •> but it proved to be a part of the
wood that was lately cleared, in which there were
feveral trunks of trees iti 11 burning. Nobody was
near. I halloo'd, and liftened, in hopes at iaft to
hear the barking of a dog, — but in vain, no other

f O * *

founds were to be heard, than the diftant murmurs of
the brook, and the whittling of the wind among the
trees.

My black arid my guide kindled fome brands, by
the light of which we walked over the afhes of this
burning wood, towards another fire a little farther.
Here we found three negroes watching fome flocks,

^J ^J 7

that belonged to a neighbour of M. de Ccfficrni.
One of them conduced me to Palma. It was now
midnight, and every body was fait afleep. A negrce,
whom our noife had awakened^ informed me that his
mailer was abroad ; — he, however offered me all the
accommodation the houfe aifcrded. I rofe early in
the morning, intending to go to Mr. Jacob's, who
lived about two leagues off upon the high grounds of
Williams-plains ; a fine broad road being cleared all
the way to his houfe, I foon arrived there, and \\ Y.S
received wkh his ufuai hofpitality.

THE air is fo much colder here than at the Port,
and the place I had juil left, that I found the fire-
fide" the beft fituation towards evening. This part
is the beft cultivated of any in the whole ifland,
and is watered by feveral rivulets, fome of which,
eipecially one they call the deep-river, runs in beds

of

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 145

of a depth frightful to look down. The road from
hence to town running clofe by the fide of this ri-
ver, on my return I obferved it particularly, and
fuppofe I could not be lefs than three hundred feet
above its channel. The fides are covered by five or
fix ftories of very large trees, rifmg one above ano-
ther •, a fight which gave me a violent fwimming in
my head.

As I came nearer to the town, I perceived the
"heat of the air increafe, and the herbage infenfibly
4ofe its verdure, till I reached the Port, where every
'thing is dry and barren.

PORT Louis* Augttft 15, 17

LET;

146 VOYAGE to tie ISL^E OF FRANCS,

LETTER XVII.

JOURNEY ON FOOT OVER THE ISLAND,

AN Officer had propofed to me a tour round
the ifland on foot, but juft before we were-
to have fet out,; excufed himielf from going,: — I
therefore determined to go alone.

I KXEW I might depend upon Cot er one of the
King's blacks, who had accompanied me before \-
he was little, but he was very ftrong, of approved
idelity, fober,, of few words, and fearlefs of dan-
ger.

bought a fkve a little time before, and
called him by your name, hoping it would be an
omen in his favour. He could not fpeak French,
nor was his conftitution healthy ; but he was well
made,, and of a very decent appearance.

I TOOK my dog with me by way of guard in
the night, and to look out for game in the
<lay time.

KNOWING that I mould be very often alone, and
that thefe woods were without inns, I provided
every thing which I thought might be necefTary for
•myfelf or my people. My baggage weighed two
hunared pounds, and confifted of a kettle, fome
plates, a quantity of rice, bifcuit, maize, a dozen

of

VOYAGE to the ISLE of FRANCE. 147

of wine, fix bottles of eau-de-vie, fome butter, fu-
gar, citrons, fait, tobacco, a fmall hammock, linen,
a plan of the iiland, fome books, a fabre, and a
cloak.

I DIVIDED the whole into four packs, two of fixty
pounds, and two of forty ^ and got them tied to the
ends of two very ftrong reeds. Cote took the heavieft,
and Duval the other. I, for my part, was in my
Waiftcoat, and carried a double-barrelled gun, a pair
of piftols in my pocket, and my couteau de chafle.

I DETERMINED to begin my courfe on the leeward-
fide of the iQand, propofmg to keep conftantly clofe
to the more, that I might form a judgment of its
defence, and to make obfervations upon any objects
of natural hiftory which might prefent themielves.

M. de Chazal offered to accompany me as far as
His eftatCj fituated five leagues from the town, in the
plains of Saint Peter , and M. le Marquis d'Albergati,
agreed to do the like.

WE fet out early in the morning of the 26th of
Auguft, and went all the way along more. From
Fort-Blanc, to the left of the Port, the fea wafhes a
fandy ftrand, that is not at all fteep, 'till it gets to
the point of a plain, on which Paulm battery is raif-
ed j though this more is level, a defcent would be
impracticable, on account of a long bank of rocks,
which run along more at two mufquet-fhots diftance,
and forms a natural defence. From this place the
more becomes fteep, and the fea runs fo high, that it
would be impoffible to land hereabouts •, and it would
be equally impoffible for cavalry or artillery to make
good their landing upon the plain, becaufe of th^
rocks with which it is covered all over. There are

L 2 no

VOYAGE to the ISLE ot

no trees, except a few mapous and veloi/tiers. The
fhore is no longer deep at little-river bay, where there
is a fmall battery.

HERE we dined with M. de Seligny, a man of fin-
gular merit. He fhewed Us the plan of a machine,
by which he cut a canal to the Neptune, a fhip that
was run a-ground here in the hurricane in 1760.
They were two iron rakes, put in motion by two
large wheels that were fupported upon barges -, and
whofe effjcl: was increafed by levers, again iupported'
by rafts.

WE faw alfo a cotton- rhill of his invention^ which
was worked by water. It was formed of a number
of fmall metal cylinders, in a parallel pofition to each
other; Children are taught to hold the cotton to two
of thefe cylinders, the cotton pafTes and the feed re-
mains; This fame mill anfwered the purpdfe of a
pair of bellows to a forge, — to grind meal, — and to
make oil, He informed us, that he had difcovered
a vein of coal, fome iron ore of an earth very pro
per for making crucibles, and that the cinders, which
are called nywphej, burnt with coal, produced glaf-
fes of a variety of colours. In the afternoon we took
leave of this ufcful and unrequited member of fo-
ciety;

WE took a path which was about a mufquet-mot
from the more, and having forded the river Bedcjle^
whole mouth is very narrow, after walking about a
quarter of a league we entered a wood, which leads
to M, de Chazal's houfe* This eftate, which is called
St. Peter's- Plains ^ is ftill more rocky, than the reft of
the way. In many places, the negroes were obliged
to lay down their burdens, and to aflift us to clamber;
When we were within half an hour's walk of our

journey's

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 149

journey's end, Duvaf, being no longer able to ftand
under his load, was obliged to lay it down. We
were much perplexed by this accident ; for night
was coming on, and the other negroes were gone be-
fore. How was he to be rbunci rgain if we left him
in thefe woods ? I ftryck a light with the lock of my
gun, and kindled a fire with fome ilraw and dry flicks ;
after which we left Duval there, and when we got
home, we fent fome blacks to feek for him, and bring
his packs.

THE more is very fleep and craggy between the
Link-River and St. Peter's- Plains. My companions
found among the rock the purple-fifh of Panama,
and a variety of other mell-filh.

Auguft 2 7? we re/led the whole day. This ftony
foil is well enough adapted to the culture of cotton,,
the thread of which is but fhort. The coffee that
grows here is of a good quality, but yields very
little, as ufual in dry places,

We fet put at 8 o'clock in the morning,
and in "the courfe of our journey forded the rivers
Dragon and Galet^ at the laft of which the more
ceafes to be fteep ; and we had from thence the
pleafure of walking upon a f)ne fand by the fear-
fide, along a large plain, which leads as far as the
bay of Tamannds. It may be about a quarter of a
league broad, .and more than a league lo,ng. No-
thing grows upon it : but I think cocoa-trees might
be planted to advantage, as they thrive in a fandy
foil. To the right, there is a ftream of bad water,
running the length of the whole wood.

In fome parts, which the fea has left dry, we
found fome fofil madrepores, which prove that the

fea

150 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

fea once warned over this fhore. We dined upon
the right-fide of Tamarind-bay, and then my com-
panions left me, and returned back.

FROM Black-River, I had but a mort league to
M. Meflm's, and therefore refolved to ileep there
that night. I forded the bay of Tamarinds, an4
from thence kept along the more with more diffi-
culty and fatigue than 1 expected : being very deep
and craggy all the way 'till we got to Black-River.
Among thefe rocks I found many forts of era1 s^
and the fame kind of loudins that I have fpoken
of before.

The bottom of this bay is a fand, and a land-
ing might be effected here, if the fituation at the
entrance did not fubject thofe who attempted it to
a crofs-nring. A battery at the point of the fands
on the right more of the Black-River, would be
of great lervice.

THE 29th and goth, at low water J continued
my walk along the more : I found the great cencb*
and a ftfh called the faux-amiral^

THE 3 1 ft, I fet off at fix this morning, and
parTed the Black-River at a ford, near the houfe j
after this, attempting to cut a-crofs a kind of
ifland covered with wood and ftones, I bewildered
myfelf in the grals, and had fome difficulty to find
the path agairi •, at laft, however, I did, and it
brought me to the fea-lide again. All along this
fhore the oyftcrs ftick to the rocks in great numbers :
"jb#t'<2/, my new fcrvant, in walking a-crofs one of
the mouths of the Black-River, got a very deep cut
in his foot, by one of their mells. We made a halt
about eight o'clock in the morning, and I gave him

fome

V O Y A G E to the ISLE & FRANCE. x 5 1

fome -eau-de-vie for C8te and himfelf to drink, and to
bathe his wound. AS they were heavily laden, I
thought it proper to make two halts in a day, to
confine my walks to the morning and evening, and
to give them all the refreshment I could. This little
indulgence gave them ftrength and fpirits,- -they
would have followed me to the end of the world,.

BETWEEN the two mouths of the BJack-Riy-er,, a
ilag, purfued by hounds and hunters, came {trait to-
wards me. The poor beaft wept and panted : as I
could not fave it, and was unwilling to kill it, I fired
one of my charges in the air. He then took to the
water, and was overtaken and killed by the dogs.
Pliny obferves, that this animal, when prefled by the
.hounds, will fly for protection to a man. I Hopped
at the firft rivulet I came to, after having pafiecl the
Black-River ; it runs into the fea oppofite to a little
ifland, called Tamarina's-rjle, which is not defcribed
upon the chart •, one may get to it on foot at low
water, as alfo to the little ifland, called Morne^ where
yeflels fometirnes perform quarantine.

I HAD every thing neceflary for dinner, but fome-
thing to eat. Seeing a pirogue of a Malabar fimer-
man pafs along the coaft, I afked them if they had
any fifh on board ; they fent me a very fine mullet,
.but would not let me pay any thing for it. I made
my kitchen at the foot of a tatamaque-trce; I lit a fire,
while one of my negroes went in fearch of wood, and
the other of water, that where I was being brackifh.
I made a hearty dinner of the fifh, upon which I alfo
regaled my fervants,

I OBSERVED fpme pieces of the rocks to be ferru-
ginous, and abounding in ore. There is a ridge
of rocks, extending from the ^lack-River, as far as

the

152 VOYAGfe to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

the promontory of Brabant, which is the moft lee-
ward point of the ifland. There is but one place to
land at behind the little ifland, called Tamarind's-
ifland.

AT two in t;he afternoon I fet out again, but walk-
ed with more circumfpeftion than before. I had now
twenty leagues to go through a defart part of the
ifland, where there are^ no more than two inhabitants,
except the Maron negroes, who harbour thereabouts.
J ordered my men to keep clofe ; and my dog, who
ufed always . to run before, now kept very near
me, and at the leaft noife pricked up his- ears and!
flopped : he fee'med fenfible that we were not' among
men. Thus we continued our walk in good order, .
following the more, which forms an infinite number,
of fmall bays. To .the left we had the woods, where
the 'moft profound folitude "reigns. Behind thefe,
funs a tracl: of hills, the tops only of which we could
fee ; the foil here is but poor, notwithstanding which,
by the '-polchers, a fpecies of tree, brought from India,
and fome other figns, it was evident that a fettlement;
had been attempted. I had the precaution to take
fbme bottles of water with me, and 'twas well I did
fo, for the rivulets marked in the plan, were entirely
dried up.

THE continual bleeding of my negro's wound,
made me very uneafy : I walked very flowly, and
at four o'clock made another halt. As night ap-
proached, I would not .attempt to go round the
promontory, but cut a-crofs the wood, over the
ifthmus which joins it to the other mountains. This
iflhmus is a hill of a middling height. Upon this
eminence I met a black belonging, to M. le Nor-
mand, whofe houfe I was going to, and from which
I was not above a quarter of a league. This man

, went

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 153

went on before, while I flopped, and looked with
delight upon the profpc<5t of the two feas. A houfe
built here would be in a charming fituation, if any
freth water were 'near. As I deicended the hill, a
black came and brought me a jug of water, and
told me, that I was' impatiently expected at the
houfe. I got there. It was a long building of pal-
lifadoes, covered with the leaves- of the latanier.
Eight negroes belonged to the plantation, and there
were nine perfons in family ; the mafter, the miftrels,
five children, a young lady related to the family, and
a friend. The mafter was abroad : all this I learnt
from the negro as I went along,

^ c/

THERE was but one large room, and of this the
whole houfe confifted ; in the middle was the kit-
chen ; at one end, they kept their ftores, and 'iere
alfo lay the fervants •, at the other was the bed where
lay the mafter and his wife •, it was covered with a
cloth by way of tefter, upon which was a hen fit-
ting upon eggs •, — under the bed were fome ducks ; —
pigeons harboured among the leaves of the roof j —
and at the door were three great dogs.

ALL the implements both of the hufbandry and
houfewifery were hung up againft the walls. What
was my furprife at finding the miftrefs of this wretch-
ed dwelling, to be a very handfome genteel woman.
Both me and her hufband were of good families in
France. They had come here feveral years fmce,
to feek their fortune ; and had quitted their rela-
tions, their friends, and their country, to pafs their
days in this defart, where nothing is to be feen
but the fea, and the frightful cliffs of the promon-
tory of Brabant ; but the air of contentment and
good-nature about this young mother of a family,
Jeemed to make every body happy who came near

her.

154 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

her. She gave fuck to her youngeft child, while
the four others flood round her, playful and con-
tented.

SUPPER time being come, every thing the houfc
•afforded was ferved up with the utmoft propriety.
— This meal appeared a very agreeable one to me.
I could not help being flruck with the fight of
the pigeons fluttering about the table, the goat-
kids and the children at play together, and fuch
a variety of animals in perfect agreement with this
amiable family, and with each other. Their peace-
ful fports, the folitude of ,the place, the murmur-
ing noife of the fea, all combined to prefent to my
imagination, a picture of thofe times when the chil-
dren of Noah, defcended upon a new earth, began
afrefh to partake of the domeftic enjoyments they
had fo long been ftrangers to.

AFTER fupper, I was {hewn to my lodging-room ,
which wa.s a little hut, newly built of wood, at a-
bout two hundred paces from the houfe. The
door was not yet put up -, but I clofed the open-
ing with the boards of which it was made. I laid
my arms in readinefs, the Maron negroes being
very numerous in this part. A few years ago, a-
bout forty of them, retired to the promontory, and
began to make plantations. An attempt was made
to take them j but fooner than fuffer this, they all
threw themfelves into the fea.

SEPTEMBER i, the mailer of the houfe having
returned home in the night, perfuaded me to defer
my journey till afternoon -, promifmg to accompany
me part of the way. It was no more than three
fhort leagues to Belle-ombre^ the lafl plantation, or
houfe that I fhould find. Madame de Normand

i c ir

herfelf,

VOYAGES to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 155

herfelf, prepared a remedy to apply to the wound of
my poor negro. She made over the fire a kind
of Samaritan's Balfam, with turpentine, fugar, wine,
and oil. His wound being dreflcd, I fent him on
before with his comrade. At three o'clock, I took
leave of this hofpitable houfe, and of the amia-r
ble and excellent miflrefs of it. Her hufband
and I fet out. He was a very robuft man ; and
his arms, legs, and face were exceedingly fun-burnt.
He worked himfelf in the plantation, as well as in
cutting down and clearing away trees. Nothing gave
him concern, he faid, but the ill health his wife
brought upon herfelf by bringing up her children •,
and that me had lately added to the fatigue, by tak-
ing upon her the charge of an orphan. He told me
only his grievances, for he could not but perceive
how fenfible I was of the happinefs he enjoyed.

We crofled a rivulet near the houfe, and walked
upon the green fod as far as point Corail. Here
the fea runs up into the ifland, between two chains
of perpendicular mountains : we followed this chain,
thro' broken and rugged paths, and fometimes
Twinging by the rocks. Our greateft difficulty was
on the fide of the bay, in doubling what they call
the Cape. I faw feveral negroes paffing it •, they
fcrambled along the fide of the rock, and had they
made one falfe ftep, muft have fallen into the fea,
In bad weather this pafiage is impracticable, the fea
beating in, and breaking among the rocks in a moft
frightful manner. In a calm, fmall vefiels can come
into the bay, at the end of which they load with
wood. Luckily for us, the King's Senau the Deftre,
was then in the bay, and we borrowed her boat to
crofs it. M. le Normande went over with me, and
we then took leave of each other, and parted.

AFTER

156 VOYAGE to the ISLE or FRANCE.

AFTER three hours walking over a green fod, I
reached the other fide of Point St. Ma> tin. Some-
times I walked upon the land, and fometimes upon
the turf, which grew in thick tufts like mofs. Here
I found a pirogue, in which M. Etiene, partner in
the plantation of Belle-ombre waited for my coming.
We foon got to his houfe, which v/as fituated at the
entrance of the river C.treniers, on the left fhore of
which they were building a fhip of two hundred
tons.

ALL the way from M. le Normand's? the coolnefs
of the air and the verdure of the ground is delightful.
'Tis a. favannah, without rock, lying between the
fea and woods, which have a beautiful appearance.

BEFORE I pafled the Cape, I obferved a large fhelf
of coral, above fifteen feet high. 'Tis 4 kind of
breaker, which the fea has abandoned -y at the foot
of it, there is a long piece of fenny-ground, whick
might be eafily converted into a bafon for imaU
vefiels.

SEPTEMBER 2^ my negro being almoft cured of his
wound, by the remedy Madame de Normand had ap-
plied to it, I fixed my departure for that afternoon.
In the morning I went out in the pirogue between
the breakers and the coaft. The water was clear to
the very bottom -, and one might fee a forefl of ma-
drepores of five or fix feet high, like trees, fome of
them with flowers growing upon them. Different
forts of fifh, and of all colours, fwain about among
their branches •, in fome parts were numbers of beau-
tiful mell-fifh, and in others tunny-ftfh, equally
beautiful, which meandered about, as the motion of
the pirogue difturbed and frighted them. I might
have made a valuable collection, but I had no

diyer

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE.

Giver here, nor any proper iron pincers to raife up
the plants from this maritime garden, or to root up
thefe trees of ftonc. However, I brought away with
me fome of the rock called, the Ear of Midas, the
Golden Cloth, &c. &c.

Two officers of the D fire dined with us, who,
with Monfieur Etiene, agreed to accompany me as
far as the arm of the lea dt l.i Sa'vanne^ three leagues
off. Nobody lives there, but there are fome huts
made of Itraw ; we had fent the negroes forward in
the morning •, and after dinner I followed them by
myfelf.

I ARRIVED at P0/7 Jacotet \ a part where the fea
runs up into the land, forming a circular bay, in the
middle of which is a finall triangular ifland ; this
creek is furrounded by a rifmg ground, that gives it
the appearance of a bafon. It is open only at the
entrance, where the fea-water enters -, and at the other
end receives a number of rivulets, that run over a
fine find, from a piece of frefh- water above, in which
were plenty of fim. Round this piece of water are
feveral little hills, rifmg one above another in the
form of an amphitheatre, and crowned with clumps
of trees, fome fhaped like pyramids or yews, and o-
thers like an umbrella, — behind, and far above all
thefe, were the tow'ring tops of a wood of palm-trees,
whofe bending branches looked like fo many plumes
of feathers. This huge mafs of verdure, rifcs out of
the middle of the green turf, and is joined to the
foreft, and to a branch of the mountain leading to
the Black-River. The murmuring of the fprings^
the beautiful greennefs of the waves, the conftant,
but gentle whittling of the winds, the fmoothnefs of
the plain, with the jpleafmg umbrage of the high
lands, and grateful fmell of the veloutiers, diffufed

around

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

around me peace and happinefs. I regretted my
being alone ; - a variety of projects fuggeited them-
felves to my imagination ; and I would have given
up all the univerfe befide, might I but with ibmc
chofen and beloved objects, have fpent my days
to come in this delightful place.

I QUITTED this pleafmg profpect with reluctance.
Before I had gone two hundred yards from it, there
met me a troop of negroes armed with fufils •, up-
on their nearer approach, I perceived them to be a
party fent out by the police of the ifland ; they flop-
ped when they came up to me. One of them had
got in the fhellofa gourd, two puppies juft whelp-
ed-, another of them led a woman tied by the neck
with a cord made of rulhes -, this was the booty they
had taken from a camp of Maron negroes, which
they had routed. They had killed one man, whole
grtjgrh they mewed me, — 'twas a kind of taliiinan
made like a rofary. The poor negro-woman, leem-
ed overwhelmed with grief. I afked her fome quef-
tions, but me did not aniwer me. She carried "upon
her back a bag made of vacoa, I opened it, and was
mocked beyond meafure at finding in it the head
of a man. The country before meieemed no longer
beautiful in my eyes, but was converted to a fcene
cf horrors, from which I fled with precipitation.

MY companions met me again as I was with fome
difficulty going down a declivity, towards the arm
of the fea de la Savanna ; it was now night, and we
feated ourfelves under fome trees at the bottom of
the bay ; where we fupped by the light of flam-
beaux,

OUR converfation turned upon thefubject of the
Maron negroes, for they as well as I, had met the party

with

VOYAGE to fbe ISLE OF FRANCE. 159

the poor woman, who was carrying, perhaps,
the head of her lover ! M. Etiene told us, there
were troops of them, of two or three hundred in
number in the environs of Belie-ombre, and that
they elected a chief, dilbbedience to whole orders,
was punifhed with death. They are forbidden to
take any thing from the houies in the neighbour-
hood, or to go to die fide of the frequented rivers
to feek for fifh or other food. In the night they go
down to the fea-fide and fifh ; and in the day-time
drive the deer or flags to the interior parts of the
woods, with dogs trained to great perfection- for this
purpofe. When there is but one woman in a party,
fhe is referved for the chief ; but if there are many>
they are in common. The children that are born,
are immediately killed, left their cries fhould difco-
ver their retreat. The whole morning is fpent in
calling lots to- prefage the deftiny of the enfuing day.

He told us, that being a hunting one day laft
year, he met a run-away negroe, whom he purfued
and prefented his gun at, — it miffed fire thrice. He
was then going to knock him down with the but-
end, but was prevented by two negroe-women, who
came out of the wood, and weeping, threw themfelves
at his feet. The black feized the opportunity and
efcaped. He brought the two generous creatures
home with him -9 he had fhewn us one of them in the
morning,

I HAD obierved, that by clearing away fome of
the beds of coral, PoSf-Jacotet^ the chearful place
I have juft defcribed, might be made a very good
harbour for fmall vefiels. The arm of the fea de la
Savanna would alfo ferve to load, or land goods from
barges. This part in general, is by far the moft
beautiful of the whole ifland j but it remains uncul-
tivated.

160 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE;

tivated, a communication with Port-Louis being dif-
ficult, on account of the mountains between them;
ancl the wind being fo feldom fair for doubling Bra-
bant promontory in returning from the Port.

SEPTEMBER 3, M. Etienne, and M. de Chezemure,
Captain of the Defire, accompanied me as far as the
left-hand more of la Savatn^ which is much fteeper
than the other •, in this place, their dogs put up a
ftag ; and here I took leave of them, to go alone the
twelve leagues that remained, through a defolate and
uninhabited country. I obferved as I wenf along,
that the meadows were much larger, and the woods
thicker and better grown. The mountains run a long
way into the land, and the fummits only of the dillant
fcnes were to be feen.

I EVERY now and then came to a ravin. I forded
three different rivers in the courfe of two hours walk
ing, and the fecond, called the river Anguilles, with
fome difficulty j its bottom being covered with
rocks, and the current very rapid. It flows from
fprings of a ferruginous quality, which cover the
water with an oil, the colour of a pigeon's breaft.

IN the way, I faw a fparrow-hawk, which makes
great havock among the poultry. It was perched
upon the trunk of a latanier. I prefented at him,
within a gun's length •, both my primes flamed in the
pan, without either gun's going off. The bird kept
his place, and there I left him. This accident made
me look very carefully to my arms, in cafe of an at-
tack from the negroes.

ON the left-hand fide of the third river, and near
the fea, I made a halt upon a level part of the rocks,
ilnder the fhade of a vehutier. My blacks made me

a kind

VOYAGE to tie ISLE. OF FRANCE. 161

a kind of tent, by throwing my cloak over fome
branches. Here I dined ; and they catched me fome
perch and conclis, — and ears of Midas.

Two hours .after dinner, I went on again, my
guns, and people in good order : there was no need
to fear a furprize, the plain being entirely open,
and the woods at a great diftance. As the path
was a fine fmooth fand, — that I might walk the more
at eafe, and not have the trouble of taking off my
ihoes and {lockings at every ford, I determined to
walk barefoot, as the hunters did in the morning.
This is hot only the moft natural, but the fafeil
way of going here, the foot feizing or griping the
ano-les of the rocks like a hand. The blacks are fo
expert by conflant ufe, that they can pick up a pin
from the ground with their toes. 'Tis not therefore
in vain, that Nature has divided this part into toes,
and them again into articulations.

HAVING pulled off my moes and (lockings while
I made thefe reflections, I walked on and forded the
firft river ± but in coming out of the water, 1 receiv-
ed a violent furoke of the fun upon my legs ; which
immediately became red and enflamed. In crofting a
fecond, I cut one of my heels, and one toe, and felt
the wounds exceedingly painful, when I put my foot
in the water. I gave up my project, lamenting that
want of cuftom had deprived me of one of the advan-
tages a man might enjoy here.

I CAME to the fide of the river Jacotet, and croffcd
it upon the back of my negroe, at about cannon-mot
diftance from its mouth. The water makes a great
noife in running over the rocks, and is fo tranfparent,
that I could diilinguim the black fnails that {luck to
the bottom. I mull own I fhuddered at palling this

M ftream.

162 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

ftream. It being near fun-fet, I determined to po ntf
farther, but walked over the ftones along its brink,
to get to a fhed which I perceived on one of the
points of the mouth, and which I found it impoflible
to reach, the rocks were fo very rugged, I returned,
and again took the path, which led me to the top of
the flope at the foot of which the river runs. On
my left-hand, in a recefs, I law a little clump of
branches of trees and liannes, but could not penetrate
it, A thought ftruck me, to cut a way into it with
a hatchet, and lay down as in a neft, thus affiiring
myfelf of a place to (leep in. But fome drops of rain
falling, a roof, though ever fo bad a one, appeared
to be the better fhelter. I went down the recefs to-
wards the fea, and was very happy to find on my
right-hand, the Ihed I had feen from the oppofite
Ihore. 'Twas nothing but a mere roof of kaves of
latanicr^ built out from the rock •, on my right, was
the paflage I had in vain attempted, and on the left,
that I had defcended by, — and before me was the fea.

EVERY thing feemed equally fitted for my fafety
and convenience : They made me up a bed of dry
leaves, upon which I lay down. My two paniers
were laid one on the right, the other on the left fide
of me, one of my blacks at each entrance, my piflols
under my head, my gun at my fide, and my dog at
my feet.

THESE difpofitions were fcarcely made, before a
mivering feized me. This was the confequence of
the ftroke of the fun, which is generally fucceeded
by a fever.

MY legs became very much enflamed and pain-
ful. They made me ibme lemonade, and by the
light of a candle which they lit, I made notes of my

obfer-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 163

obfervations during this journey, and corrected fome
trrors in the chart,

THE whole coaft, from the seftuary la Sevdnne,
is fteep and inaccefTible. The rivers that empty
themfelves here have fteep banks. — It would be
impofiible for cavalry to get along at all, and the
march of art enemy might be impeded with great
tale, every river being a ditch of a depth abfolute-
iy frightful. As to the country, 'tis by far the
mofc beautiful in the ifland.

AT midnight the fever left me, and I fell afleep.
•At half pail three o'clock, my dog waked me, by
running from under the fnedj and barking as loud
•as he could. I called to Cote, who rofe -, we went
t>ut, but could fee nothing but a ftarry fky. My
black returned in a few minutes, and faid, he had
heard fomc body whiftle twice, as if in the wood.
I ordered them to light a fire and keep watch, and
placed Cote, armed with my fabre, as a centinel.

THE iea came up almoft as far as my cottage.
The noife of its breaking among the rocks, added
to the darknefs of the night, inclined me to reft,
but my appreheniions would not fuffer me. I was
five leagues from any houfe, and if the fever mould
again attack me, no affiftance could be had. I had
no fears about the Maron negroes ; my fervants were
both refolute men, and my fituation was fuch as
Would enable me to ftand a fiege. All things con-
fidered, I thought myfelf very happy that I did
not take up my lodging in the thicket.

AT day break, I gave a glafs of eau-de-vie to my
body-guards, and renewed my journey. Their

M 2 burdens

164 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

burdens were much lightened, by the conflant con-
fumption of our proviiions.

SEPTEMBER 4, It was half paft five when I fet off,
refolving not to flop 'till I got to a houfe. We pre-
iently came to the fide of a fmall river, and a little
farther on to a rivulet almofl dried up. After an
hour's walk, the beautiful turf I had walked on from
the promontory of Brabant ended, and the foil be-
came ftony and covered with rocks, as in the other
parts of the ifland. The grafs here is of a finer ver-
dure, and of a large blade, — very proper for pafture.

I FORDED an arm of the fea called du Cloallvn over
a fand-bank. The defcription of it in the plan is
not a good one. The fea runs deep into the land,
through a narrow channel, a-crois which gratings
might be put, and there would then be a fine refer-
voir for fiJh. On the left more there was a med, in
which I refted myfelf.

ABOUT half a league from thence the path divides,
I took that to the left, which leads into the woods ;
it conducted me to a wide road, marked with a track
of wheels, — an appearance that pleafed me very much,
as it was a fign of my being near a houfe of fome
note, an'd the print of a horfes hoof was at that time
a much more defirable fight than the foot-ftep of a
man. We loon arrived at a houfe, but the mafler
was out i I therefore went back, and ftruck into a
path, that led through the woods to the plantation of
M. Delaunay. I got here in good time, for my legs
were fo terribly inflamed, that 1 could fcarcely walk.
He lent me a horfe to carry me two leagues off to a
plantation occupied by fome priefts.
>

I CROS-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 165

I CROSSED fucceflively the rivers de la Cbaux, and
des Creeks, three quarters of a league from the laft,
I eroded one of the bays to the fouth-eaft of the Port
in a pirogue.

THE fides of this bay are covered with mangliers.
The views here are delightful, the country being hil-
ly, and covered with plantations, interfperfed with a
great number of clumps of orange-trees. It was fix
o'clock when I arrived at the houfe of the prieft, who
had the management of the plantation. My legs
were bathed with elder-flower water, and I flept with
great comfort.

SEPTEMBES 5, I was now but one league from the
Great Port. The good Prieft lent me a hprfe, and I
got to the town about ten o'clock ; it confifls of about
a dozen houfes. . The moil remarkable buildings
are, a large mill nearly fallen to ruins, and the Go-
vernor's houfe in little better condition. Behind the
town is a high mountain, and before it the fea, which
forms a bay two leagues deep, including the rocks at
its entrance, and four leagues long from point Cccos
to point Diable. I alighted at the houfe of the cu-
rate.

SEPTEMBER 6, 7, and 8, I was charmed with my
hoft, and with the country I had fee'n ; but nei-
ther he, nor his parimioners drank any thing ex-
cept water. It is frequently a month's voyage from
hence to Port-Louis, and the inhabitants are upon
thefe occafions in abfolute want of every article
that comes from Europe. I gave part of my pro-
vifions to M. Deliblie, my holt, who w,as a good fort
of man.

M 3 THE

1 66 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

THE ibuth-eaft port was formerly inhabited by the
Dutch, one of whole ancient buildings is now uled
35 a chapel. There are two ways to enter the Port,
one at point Diab'e^ for fmall velTels ; the other,
which is much wider, is by the fide of ah ifland
towards the middle. At each of thefe places is a
1 battery, and at the bottom of the bay, is a third
called the Queen's battery.

IF my indifpofition would have permitted me, I
fhould have examined the variety of ftrange bodies;
thrown a-fhore by the fea, in order' to have formed
fome opinion of the lands to windward of the ifland ;
but I could not undergo the fatigue, 'for my legs
were very painful, and the fkin peeled off entirely.

The following is all the information I could get :

WHALES frequently come into the fouth-eaft port,
where it would be very eafy and fafe to harpoon them;
Fifh is very plentiful upon this coaft, efpecially ihell-
fim, of the moft beautiful kinds. They gave me
fome oyfters of a violet colour, from the mouth of
the river la Cbauxy and a fpecies of criftalization from
the neigbouring river, Sorbes.

I SAW for three nights, a comet, which firft ap-
peared a fortnight before, the nucleus was pale and
nebulous, its tail white and very long, the rays di-
verged but little. I drew the pofition of it in the
fky, which was a little below the three Kings. Its
courfe was caftward, and confequently its tail in a
weflerly direction. At half paft two on the morning
of the 6th, its elevation was about 50 deg. above the
horizon,— my obfervation could not be very accurate
for want of the proper inftruments.

THE

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 167

THE air of this place was cool and refrefhing, and
the country beautiful and fertile : but the inhabitants
are fo few, that during # whole day, I faw but two
negroes pafs through the Greet.

SEPTEMBER 9, I now found myfelf able to conti-
nue my journey, efpecially as the part I went through
was inhabited. I determrned to Hop for the night at
four leagues diftance from the mouth of the Great
River, which is fomething broader than that of the
fame name, near Port-Louis.

WE fet out at fix in the morning, and followed
the courfe of the more, which is broken in feveral
places by bays, on the fides of which grow Ynangliers
in abundance. It is not impoflible but that the feeds
may have been brought by the fea from fome land
to windward. We went along the fide of a range of
high mountains to our left, — they were covered with
wood. The country is divided into fmall hills, on
which grows a very fine grafs ; the provender of cat-
tle, bred here in great numbers j 'tis a pleafant part
pf the ifland, but very fatiguing to travel over.

AFTER walking about two hours, we faw upon arj
eminence a fine houfe built of ftone. Here I flopped
to refrefh myfelf ; it belonged to a wealthy inhabi-
tant, whofe name was V***. He was abroad. — His
wife was a raw-boned Creole, who according to the
cuftom of the country went barefoot. I found her
in a room, with five or fix girls about her, and as
many maftifF dogs, who immediately attacked my dog,
and were very near flrangling him. She turned them
all out, of the room, and placed at the door to keep
them out a negroe wench, who had nothing on but a
ragged petticoat. I begged leave to ftay in her houfe
during the heat of the day. The firft compliments,
M 3 were

i63 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

were fcarcely ended, before one of the dogs found
means to get in among us again, and the uproar was

renewed. Madame de la V held in her hand the

prickly tail of a dried thornback, with which me gave
the poor negroe a cut a-crois the bare moulders,
(which were marked immediately with a long wheal)
and then me gave a back flroke to the dog, who ran
howling away.

THIS Lady told me, flie had narrowly efcaped
being drowned in going in a pirogue to harpoon
turtles among the rocks. She ieemed to value
herfelf much upon going to hunt the Maron ne-
groes in the woods ; but fiie told me, the Gover-
nor had deprived her of her favourite fport, which
was ftag-hunting, and added, " I mould have been
" better plcafed, if he had fuuck a dagger in my
" heart."

AT four in the afternoon I left this negroe-hunt-
ing Bellona j and took a ' path, which went a-crois
point Diable, ib called, by the firft navigators on this
coaft •, becaufe it is faid, that their compafs varied
without their being able to account why it did ib.
We crofTed the mouth of the Great River in a ca-
noe,— it is navigable for nothing larger, on account
of a fand-bank which runs a-crois it, and a catarac~b
formed by it, about a quarter of a league from
hence.

THERE is an earth redoubt on the left {here, at
the beginning of the road that leads to Fl'acq, and
along which we went, the rocks being fo rugged
upon the fhore' in this part, as to render it impaf-
fable. Here we once more entered the woods, which
are very fine, and abound in orange-trees. A quar-
ter of a league from hence I came to 'a houfe, — the

matter

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 169

matter of it was not at home -, I flopped notwith-
ftanding.

I HAD walked two hours and a half in the morning,
and as much in the afternoon.

SEPTEMBER 10, we kept the road to Flacq, 'till
we got about a quarter of a league beyond the river
itec be, which we forded as we had done the reft : then
taking a path on the right-hand, I came to the fea-
Ihore at Laudouce bay, where there was a poft of thirty
men.

WE now went again along the more, it being very
paffable. Cote carried me over an arm of the fea,
which was rather deep. The fand is almoft every
where covered with rocks, except a long meadow of
dog's tooth-grafs, of the fame fort I had feen at Belle-
ombre. All this part is dry and barren -, the woods
are low and thin, and extepd as far as the mountains
which are feen at a diftance : this plain, over which
are three roads, is not good for much, it reaches as
far as a fettlement called Quatre Cccos. There is no
other water, but a brackiih well, dug in the rocks,
full of veins of iron ore.

AFTER dinner, a path on our left-hand, led us in-
to the woods, which were very ftony. We came to
the brink of the river F/acq, at about a quarter of a
league from the mouth, and crofled it upon planks.
In going along the fide of this river, I paffed feveral
plantations, of which there are many hereabouts, and
came down to a ftore-houfe on the left, where there
is a pofl, commanded by M. Gautier, the Captain
of a company. — He defircd me to lodge there that
pight.

SEP-

170 VOYAGE to the ISLE of P'RAXCE,

SEPTEMBER u, I laid by all day. This part,
which is called Le Flacq^ is the beft cultivated in the
ifland -, rice grows in great plenty. There is a creek
in the rocks, by which barges can come and load
with the greateft convenience,

SEPTEMBER 12, my hoft accompanied me part of
the way -, we went in a pirogue to poft Fayftie^ as
far as which, the coaft is entirely covered with rocks
and mangroves. £Jear the landing place, we law the
trace of a turtle in the fand ; this induced us to land
in fearch of it, but we found nothing but its neft.
We forded the bay des Aigrettes, which is a large arm
of the fea. I was upon the moulders of Cotey when
the fea became fo deep towards the middle ot the paf-
fage, that I feared he would not bve able to keep his
feet •, the water came up to his neck, and wetted me
very much. A little farther on, we came to another
asftuary, called the bay de Requins, I obferved many
parts of the rock pierced with a number of round
holes, of about a foot diameter. Some of them were
as deep as my cane, — and I imagined that the lava of
fome volcano, having formerly flowed through the
wood, had confumed the trunks of the tree?, and
left the print of the place they had grown in.

FROM the poft of Fayette to the river du Remf>arty
the meadow is continued. This part is alfo well cul-
tivated, and here we dined. I then crofied the river,
and went on alone, 'till I came to the river des Citrc-
wers. The fun was juft fetting, when I perceived an
inhabitant at a little diftance, who invited me very
kindly to his houfe. -— — his name was Le Sieur
Goule.

SEPTEMBER 13, In the morning he offered me his
horfe to go to the town, which was but five leagues

off.

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 17 j

pff. I would willingly have gone round the whole
ifland, but there remained ftili four leagues of the

/ > : *J

way totally without inhabitants, or water ; befides,
from point des Caaonien, to the Port was a part of
the coaft that I already knew.

I ACCEPTED the offer my hoft had made me, and
left this quarter, which is called La Pcudre d'o>-, on
account, fay they, of the colour of the fand, which
however, appeared to me to be white, as in other
places. I crofled the river, (which is called by the
lame name as the quarter) and then entered a large
wood, the foil of which is good, but without water.
In the quarter of FamplemoulTe, which was the next
I came to, the lands feem quite exhaufted, the inha-
bitants having cultivated them for thirty years, with-
out ever laying dung upon them*, I forded this
river, and the rivers Seibe^ and de Lataniers^ and in
the evening arrived at the Port.

THE moil fertile foils I had feen on my tour were
all flony, except fome parts of Pamplemoufle.

I DID not find one monument worthy of remark.
There are three churches in the ifland ; one at Port-
Louis, the fecond at the fouth-eaft port, and the third,
and handfomefl at Pamplemoufle ; the two others be-
ing fmaller than the churches of a little country vil-
lage. They had built one at Port-Louis, upon a very
handfome plan, but the roof being too much raifed,
the walls were inefficient to bear its weight, and re-
fift the force of the hurricanes. What remains of it
is now ufed as a ftore-houfe, of which there are but

* The author calls itfumer, — (rooking them. Saturn was cal-
led Stercutius by the ancients, for having taught them this method
of improving their lands. T.

few

1 72 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

few in the ifland, and the greater part of thofe built
of wood, a material by no means proper for public
buildings, efpecially here, where the ftrongeft beams
will only laft forty years, if the worms do not deftroy
them fooner ; beiides, ftone is found every where in
great abundance, and the HI and is furrounded with
coral, for lime. The greateft difficulty is in laying
the foundations, for which, the rocks muft be blown
lip with gunpowder ; and yet, all things confidcrcd,
1 do not think, that a building in ftone would coft
one third more than one of wood. The latter is
foon built, and as foon decays. Thofe who are too
eager for enjoyment, never enjoy any thing to per-
fection.

THE ifland is reckoned to be about forty five
leagues in circumference. It is watered by a num-
ber of rivulets, which run in deep channels from
the center of the ifland into the fea. Although

O

we were now in the dry ieafon, I croiTed above four
and twenty, flowing with frefh and wholefome water.
I fuppofe that about half this ifland lays fallow, one
quarter of it confuls of plantations, .and the remain-
der of paflure grounds, of various kinds.

LET-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF EKANCE. 173

LETTER XVIII.

Of the COMMERCE, AGRICULTURE, and
DEFENCE of the ISLE OF FRANCE.

ON E letter will not fuffice to relate all that
may be laid upon thefe three fubjecls, — which
are boundlefs. To begin with the firft, I do noc
know a corner of the earth whofe wants are fup-
plied from fo many, or fo diftant parts. Their
dimes and plates come from China ; their linen and
clothes from India-, their (laves and cattle fromMada-
gafcar •, their provilions, or part of them, from the
Cape of Good-Hope -, their money from Cadiz, and
their government and laws from France. M, de
la Bourdonnais wilhed to have made it the ftaple of
the trade to India— a fecond Batavia.

WITH the view of great genius, he had alfo the
weaknefs of a man : place him but upon a point,
and he will make the centre of all things.

ALL ftaples augment the expences of trade, and
mould never be eftablijhed but when abfolutely ne-
ceffary. No nation has any ftaple between the Indies
and Europe, but where the trade is immediately con-
cerned. Batavia is a fpice illand.

THE Ifle of France is looked upon, as a fortrefs
which aflures to us our pofiefilons in India ; with

equal

174 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

equal reafon Bourdeaux might be deemed the citidel
of our American colonies. The Ifle of France is
fifteen hundred leagues from Pondicherry. Suppofe
a garrifon ever fo numerous were to be maintained
here, yet, a fquadron muft rendezvous in a port,
where the worms will totally deftroy a fhip in three-
years. Neither pitch, tar^ cordage, or maft timber
are found here ; nor is the wood of a proper fort for
any other branch of building.

WE muft afterwards run the rifle of a fea-engage-
ment. If beaten, we cannot fuccour the place •, if
victorious, — our ibldiers, carried fuddenly from a tem-
perate to a very fultry climate, will be unable to en-
dure the fatigue of the fervice.

If half the money had been expended upon fome-
part of the malabar coaft, or at the mouth of the
Ganges, in lieu of the Ifle of France, we might
have had a reipeclable tbrtrefs in India itfelf, and the
troops would have been feaibned to the climate ; nor
would the Englifh in this cafe have been mailers of
Bengal. From them we may learn how to form a
a fettlement, and protect it when formed. They
have an army of three or four thoufand Europeans
upon the very banks of the Ganges •, befides a num-
ber of diftant iilands under their dominion : they
have nothing now to do but to eftablifh themfelves
on the weftern fide of Madagafcar : but in all their
enterprizes, they never while purfuing the means,
lofe fight of the end. A flock of Iheep would be in
a dangerous fituation, were the dogs, their protectors,
at fifteen hundred leagues diftance from them.

WHEREFORE then do we continue to keep this Ifle
of France ? To fupply us with coffee, and as a pore
for our fhips to put into upon occafion.

THIS

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

THIS country which produces little elfe than a fmall
quantity of coffee, has wants, enough, to engage
all its attention to them alone, this muit be entirely
{implied from France for fome time, or the colony
will never arrive at a ftate to be of the leaft real ufe to
the mother country. Our commodities, our cloths^
our linnens, our manufactures are in plenty, and the
cotton- works of Normandy are frr better than thole
of India with which they clothe the (laves. No money
but our own mould circulate here. A paper curren-
cy is let on foot but is of no great credit j at the bdt
rate of exchange, thirty three, and frequently fifty
per cent is loft by it. — Indeed it is impoflible that
this paper money can lofe lefs •, — it is payable in
France fix months after fight, it is fix months upon
the voyage thither, and fix months on the return -,
this is eighteen months. Ready money is reckoned
here, to produce thirty three per cent in eighteen
months, if employed in the maritime trade ; and
therefore who ever gives paper for piaftres, juftly
looks upon himfelf as running rifks of more forts
than one.

WHATEVER is bought for the king, is fold to him
at one third lefs than its real worth. The corn of
the inhabitants, — all buildings creeled for him, —
ftores, and expeditions of every fort. You may
have a ftorehoufe built for 20,000 francs, ready mo-
ney •, * if you pay in paper, the price is io,coo
crowns — and upon a matter of this kind, there ne-
ver is any difpute.

ALL payments however are made in this paper mo-
:y. 'Twas once thought it never would have gone

* A franc or livre is lod. * Englifti.

OUC

176 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

out of the ifland ^ but now not only this goes, but
the piaftres alib, and never to return •, the colony
would elie be in want of every thing.

OF all the places to which it trades, the only one
that is indifpenfably neceffary at prefent to its exift-
ance, is Madagafcar, for flaves and cattle. Theie
iflanders were formerly content with the wretched
fufils that were offered them in barter, but they muft
now have piaftres, and thofe milled at the edges —
All the world is rifmg into perfection.

FURTHER, if there is the moft diftant profpeft of
this ifland being a flourifhing feat of trade, the port
mud be cleared out without delay, there being now
feven or eight hulks of mips each forming an iiland,
which is every day increafed by the madrepores grow-
ing round them.

No perfon mould be allowed to pofTefs lands fitu-
ated conveniently for the port, but what mould pay
for them accordingly. Nor mould any perfon pro-
cure for himfelf grants of evteniive and the fineft
lands in the iiland, to fell them, again to others.
This abufe is exprefsly prohibited by the laws : but
the laws here are not put in execution.

THE breeding of the beads of burthen mould be
attended to, and efpecially of affes, fo ufeful in a
mountainous country : an als will carry tw'ce the
load that a negroe can (land under. The black is of
a little higher price, but the afs .is the ftrongeft and
the happieft of the two.

They have made many laws relative to the planting
bufinefs. No people in the world know their own
intereft better than the inhabitants of the Ifle of
France, nor what is belt fuited to the foil they
pofiefs. THERE

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 177

THERE are a number of foldiers here who are en-
tirely ufelds, — thefe men might have lands allotted
for cultivation, and affiftance for clearing them,
and might marry the free negroes. Were a plan of
this kind adopted, in ten years the whole ifland
would turn to profit in one way or another; and we
mould have an eftablimed nurfery for failors and fol-
diers to ferve in India. This idea is fo very fimple,
that I do not at all wonder it has been rejected as
contemptible.

I leave to others the propofing of* means for alle-
viating the feverit jes of the bondage of the poor ne-
groes ; — fome abuies are too enormous to admit of
mediation.

IF you talk upon the mode of* defence proper^or
this ifland, a lea officer, will tell you a fquadron
mould be kept here conftantly ; an engineer would
have it fortified ; a brigadier is perfuaded that a few
regiments would belt anfwer the purpofe ; and the
inhabitants think the ifland will of itfelf, defend it-
felf. The three firil of thefe objects depend upon
the will of the adminiftration and may partly be dif-
penfed with, altho' in fome refpects. necefTary. I
mail enlarge upon the laft, as I wifh you to be ac-
quainted with iome of the ceconomical views of the
people here.

I obferved, in my tour round the ifland, that it
was almoft entirely encircled at fome diftance from
the fhore, by a belt of rocks : that in thofe parts
where the belt was not continued, the coaft is formed
of rocks high and inacceflible. This difpofition, fo excel-
lent for its defence, could not fail to aitcnifh me ; but
it is neverthelefs certain, the ifland would be totally

N inacceflible

l;8 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

inaccefiible, but for fome clefts in the rocks which
afford a paffage -, of thefe I counted eleven. They
are formed by the currents of the river.

IN the fecuring of thefe paffes then, confifts the
defence of the ifland from without — fome of them
might be fhut up by means of floating chains, and
others by batteries raifed upon the more.

As that part between the rocks and the more is na-
vigable for boats, fmall armed floops might be ufed
with good efFe6t, when the pafs is not within cannon-
mot of the coaft.

BEHIND the rocks, the more is very accefTible ;
the landing being upon a level. Thefe parts how-
ever might be rendered impracticable by art, as thofe
of the bays of the South Eaft port are by nature.
Nothing need be done but to plant Mangl'ters^ a fort
of trees which growing far out into the fea form fo-
refts abfolutely impenetrable. This expedient is fo
very eafy, that nobody has yet thought of it.

IF in thofe parts of the coaft where the furf runs
high, fome of the rocks are found to be accefiible,
thefe being no where of much extent, might be de-
fended by railing a wall or line ; by keeping che-
vaux de frife to throw into the water, or by Raquettes
which will grow in the drieft places ; (but the Manglier
will grow if there is ever fo little fand;) by trees, prick-
ly mrubs, &c. They have befides, this advantage,
they coft but little ; and time, thedeftroyer of every
other fortification, increafes and ftrengthens that I am
recommending. So much for the defence againft the
attacks by fea.

I confider this ifland as a circle, and the rivers
flowing from the centre, as fo many Radii of it.

The

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 179

*The fhores might be cut either perpendicularly, or
with a talus, or raquettes and bambos might be
planted upon the fides towards the town, and the oppo-
fite more laid open for three hundred toiies. By this
means the ground between every two rivulets is ren-
dered a ftrongly fortified place, and the channel of
each rivulet a very dangerous ditch. Every attempt
to pafs, on whatever fide it is made, muft be percei-
ved by the inhabitants, who would be enabled there-
by to act for their defence accordingly ; nor could
any enemy arrive at the town but througji a thoufand
difficulties and obftructions. This fyftem of defence
might be adopted in all fmall iflands, whofe waters
constantly How from the centre to the circumference.

BETWEEN the two wings of the mountains which
encompafs the town and the port, there is need but
of little fortification, except that part towards the
fea. Upon the ifle of T'onneHers mould be built a
fort, with batteries placed in a kind of covered ways
to enfilade each other. Thefe mould be mounted
with a number of mortars, — fo terrible to fhipping.
To the right and left as far as the ends of the pro-
montories, the land mould be protected by ftrong
and refpcctable lines. Nature has already done her
part towards the defence of the right fide, —the river
Latanier running the length of the whole front.

O D

A deep valley is formed at the back of the town
by the mountains, and includes a vafl extent of
ground, whereon all the inhabitants of the illand
and their (laves might be aficmbled. The other fide
of thefe mountains is inacceffible, or might be ca-
fily made fo, at a trifling expence.

THIS place has befides, a peculiar advan-
tage ; for in the very highcfl part of the moun

N 2 tarn

T8o V OYAG E to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

tain, at the place called Le Pouce, there is found
a large piece of land, planted with trees, among
which run two or three rivulets of very fine frefh wa-
ter. There is no afcending thither from the town,
but by a very intricate path. It has been attempted
by force of mines, to make a wide road of communi-
cation with the interior part of the ifland •, but the
back of the mountains are of fo prodigious a height and
fteepnefs, that fcarce any thing except a negroe or a
monkey can fcramble over them. Four hundred men
in this poft, if furnilhed with provifions, could never
be driven from it j and there is fpace enough for the
whole garrifon.

If to thefe natural means of defence, we add thofe
which mould be furnifhed by government, — a fqua-
dron, and proper troops, an enemy would have the
following obftacles to furmount.

I — HE would be obliged to hazard the event of an
engagement by fea.

II — SUPPOSING the enemy victorious, our fqua-
clron might retard his defcent, by making him bear
to the windward of the ifland in the courfe of the
engagement.

Ill — THE difficulties of a difembarkation would
remain to be encountered with. The coaft can be
attacked only at particular points, and no where up-
on a front of any extent. ,

IV — THE pafiage over each rivulet would be at-
tended with an engagement to his manifeft di fad van-
tage j if by the method I have propofed, the one
fide of the rivulet mould be laid quite open.

V.

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 181

V — HE muft form the liege of the town on a fide
where there is but little room : muft fuftain the fire
from the promontories which command this place ;
and open his trenches among rocks.

VI — SHOULD the garrifcn be driven out of the town,
they might retire to the height abovementioned, — a fe-
cure retreat, well provided with water, and where
they might be conftantly fupplied with fuccours from
the interior part of the ifland.

THIS would be a proper time for me to fpeak of
the defence of the neighbouring ifland of Bourbon ;
but I am yet a ftrangcr to it. I know only that a
landing is impracticable ; that it is well peopled, and
grows more corn than it can confume ; yet does eve-
ry one contend that the fate of Bourbon depends upon
that of the Ifle of France. Is this, * becaufe the
military cheft is kept here ?

* The author has fupprefled Tome obfervations relative to the
Jfle of France, left what he propo£-d as a means of its defence,
might be of advantage to an anemy about to attack it. *Thij
ought to have occurred to thofe who have published plans and
charts of our colonies, of which our enemies have more than
once availed themfelvfs to our diiadvantage. The Dutch will
permit no plans of tht-ir iflands to be engraved. Manufcript ones
are given to each Mafter cf a veff.1, who at his return delivers
them again into \hz proper office at their admiralty.

END OF THE FIRST PART.

PART II.

A

VOYAGE, Sec.

LETTER XIX.

DEPARTURE FOR FRANCE— ARRIVAL
AT BOURBON-HURRICANE.

HAVING obtained permifiion to return to France,
I prepared to embark on board L'Indien, a
fhip of 64 guns.

I gave Duval, the flave that bore your name his
freedom ; but lent him to a good man of the country,
until he had difcharged a debt he owed to the admi-
niftration. Had he Ipoken French, I would have
brought him to Europe. His tears teftified his regret
at parting with me, of which he feeined more fenfible
than of the pleafures of liberty. I propofed to have
bought the freedom of G?/£alfo, if he would have attach-
ed himfelf to my fortune, but he declared there was a
girl in the ifland whom he could not part with. The
fituation of the King's flaves is very eafy. Here he
found himfelf happy, which was more than I could
promife he mould be if h? went with me. I mould
moil gladly have brought back my Favourite to his
own country, but fome months before I left the
ifland my poor dog was taken from me, — in lofing
him I loft a faithful friend that I frequently regretf

N 4 SOME

184 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

SOME days before I departed, I revifited Aiitouru,
the ifiander of Taiti, who had been brought thus far
on his way home from Europe.* On his paffage
from his own country to France, he was open, gay,
v and a little of the libertine-^-on his return, I obiervcd
he was referved and polite, — he had fludicd the graces.
He was enchanted with the Opera at Paris, and imi-
tated the airs and dances he had heard andfeen there. He
had a watch, upon which he defcribed the hours by the
feverai employments of each, — Hefhewed the hour of
rifmg, of eating, of going to the opera, of walking,
&c. &£. — -j-This man was very intelligent, and ex-
preffed by figns whatsoever he pleafed. £ Although
the men of Ta'iti pafs for having had no communica-
tion with other nations before the arrival of Mon-
fieur Bougainville, 1 obferved, however, one word
in their language and a cuftom which they have in
common with other people •, Matte, in the language
of TaYti, means to kill. The Matte of Spain, and
the Mat of Pcrfia bears the fame fignification.§
They are alib ufed to paint their fkins, as was done
by many people of the old and new woi'ld. They
knew what iron is, though they have none of it —
they call it aurov., and aik for it with eagerneis. But
all thefe analogies tend little to the tracing of the ori^

* He was brought from Otaheitie by MonJieur Bougainville in
1769— and (laid eleven months in Paris. T.

-\ Aotouru by the accounts of feverai Englifhmen who faw him
in Fiqnce, was very far fiom the intelligent man ddciibed by cur
auihcr. — T.

J Aotouru hirnfelf told Monfieur Bougainville that an Englifh
fhip was at Otalieuie, near a twelvemonth befi re his arrival (here
—and Monfieur Bougainville as plainly, as illiberally inJinuates,
that the Engliih introduced the venereal diieaie among thofe;
iflanders. T.

§ The author might have added the Italian ammazare, to kill.
T.

ginal

VOYAGE to tie ISLE of FRANCE. 185

ginal of a nation. Follies, wants, and evils of hu-
man nature appear naturalized among all people.
A more certain mode of diftinction is the knowledge
of their languages. All nations in Europe eat bread ;
but the Ruffians call it Gleba, the Germans Broth,
the Latins Paris, the inhabitants of lower Britainy,
Bora.

feemed chagrined at his long flay in the
Ifle of France. He walked, but always alone. I
perceived him one day in a profound meditation,
looking at a black (lave at the door of the prifon,
round whofe neck they were rivetting a large chain.
It appeared a ftrange ipectacle to him, that a man of
his colour mould be thus treated by white people,
who had loaded him with benefits and prefents when
at Paris. But he knew not, that by their paffions,
men are carried acrofs the feas, and that the morality
by which they are influenced in Europe, within the
tropics, actuates them no longer.*

I embarked on the pth of November 1770, many
Malayans accompanied me to the fea- fide, and with
tears defired my fpeedy return. Thefe gcod people
never lofe the hope of feeing again thole who have

* To corroborate this opinion of the author's, I beg leave
to infert an extract from the hiflory of the conqueit of New
Spain, publifhed at Madrid in the year \6$z by Caitillo,—
We bought three (hips of tfye governor of Cuba,— who propo-
fed that we fhould pay him lor them with flaves, which we
were to bring from the fmall iflands between Cuba and Hon-
duras — We rejected this propofaJ, telling him, that neither
God, nor the King had ordained thefe people, (by nature
free,) to be enilaved." — Caftillo afterwards engaged with Cor-
tes, and accompanied him in his expeditions to Mexico, during
which there is no doubt but he got rid of thofe fcruples which
occafioned the above recited anfwer to the governor of Cuba. T.

done

1 86 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

done them lervicc. I recognized among them a maf-
ter carpenter who had bought my books of geometry,
although he could fcarcely read. He was the only
man in the ifland who would have them.

WE were detained in the road eleven days by a calm,
The evening of the 2Oth we fet fail, and at three in
the afternoon of the 2 1 ft anchored in the road of St,
Dennis, at Bourbon.

THIS ifland is 40 leagues to the leeward of the I fie
of France. 'Tis one days fail only to Bourbon, but
a month is frequently fpent in returning. It appears
afar off, like a part of a fphere, with very high
mountains, the land of which is cultivated to the
height of 800 toifes, — They reckon 1600 perpendicu-
lar toifcs to the fummit of the three Saiajfis, which are
three inacceffible pikes.

THE fhcre here is very fleep ; the feas roll with a
great furf, preventing all but pirogues from approach-
ing the land without being darned to pieces. At St.
Denis a draw-bridge is contrived for the unlading of
fioops, which projects more than fourfcore feet over
the lea, and is fuitained by iron chains. At the end
of this bridge there is a rope ladder, up which thofe
who would land, muft climb. There is this one
place only in the whole ifland, where any body can
land, without firft jumping into the fea.

As the Indien was to flay here three weeks to lade
coffee, feveral of the pafTengers propofed parTing
fome days on the ifland, and even waiting at St. Paul,
feven leagues to leeward, 'till the fliip fhould go thi-
ther to cornpleat her cargo.

PROVISIONS

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 187

PROVISIONS being fhort on board, I with the Cap-
tain and feveral officers of other veflels, joined with
them in this plan.

THE 25th in the afternoon I embarked alone in a
little yawl, and notwithftanding the breakers ran ve-
ry violently, by keeping the boats head to the lea, I
dilembarked at the bridge. We were an hour and an
half making this trip, which was not half a league.

I waited upon the commanding officer. He told
me there was no inn at St. Denis, nor in any part of
the ifland, and that ftrangers lodged with fuch of the
inhabitants as they had concerns with. Night came
on and having no traffick here, I prepared to return
aboard, when this officer offered me a bed.

I next payed my refpects to M. de Cremon, com-
mirTaire ordonateur who invited me to his houfe while I
ilaid on fhore. This was the more agreeable to me

^J

as I wifhed to fee the volcano of Bourbon, to which
J knew M. de Cremon had once made an excurfion.

BUT I did not find an opportunity, — the way is
very difficult — few of the inhabitants know it, and
the journey would require an abfence of feven or eight
days,

FROM the 26th to the ^oth the fwell was fo great
that few of the boats ufed in the harbour came to
land. Our Captain availed himfelf of a fortunate
minute to get on board his fhip, whither his affairs
called him, but the bad weather prevented his re-
Banding.

THE

iSS VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE.

THIS breeze, which always comes from the S. W.
rifes at 6 in the morning and ends at 10 at night.
While I ftaid, it blew with equal violence day and

night.

THE firft of December the wind fell, but there
role from the open fea a monftrous gale, which blew
upon the more with fuch violence that the centinel on
the bridge was obliged to quit his poft.

THE top of the mountains is covered with clouds,
very thick and motionkfs. The wind continued to
blow from the S. W. but the fea ran from the W.
Three large waves beat fuccefllvely over each other
and appeared along the coaft like three ranges of lit-
tle hills. From the upper part of them iflued fe-
veral jets deau which fell down again in white furf,
and rufhed violently upon the fliore forming an arch,
which rolling as it were round itfelf, foamed to a height
more than fifty feet perpendicular.

The air was fo heavy that we breathed with diffi-
culty, the fky was dark, clouc^s of fea-fowls came from
the main and took refuge on the land. The birds
and animals on more feemed difturbed. Even men
were feized with an inward horror at feeing a dreadful
tempeft in the midft of a calm.

ON the morning of the 2d the wind fell entirely,
andthefwellincreaied — The rolling waves were more
numerous and came from a greater diftance. The
more, beaten by the fea, was covered with a white
mofs like fnow, which heaped together like packs of
wool. The veflels in the harbour rode very hard at
anchor. There was now no doubt but that the hur-
ricane approached. The pirogues which were on tht
Galet were drawn a great way upon land, and every
one Ipftened to fecure his houfe with cords and ropes.

THERE

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 189

THERE lay at anchor L'Indien, Le Penthievre,
L'Alliancc, Le Grand Bourbon, Le Gerion, a Gau-
lette and a little boat. The more was lined with peo-
ple, drawn thither by the fpectacle the fea prefented,
and the danger of the mips.

ABOUT noon the fky loured prodigioufly and the
wind began to freihen from the S. E. We began to
fear that it would turn and blow from the W, and run
the vefTels afliore. From the battery, the fignal was
given them to depart, by hoifling the flag, and fi-
ring two guns with fhot in them. Immediately they
cut their cables and fet fail. The Penthievre not able
to fhip her boat, left it behind. L'Indien being an-
chored farther at fea, went before the wind with her
four principal fails. The reft got out as fait as they
could.. Some blacks who were on board a lhallop
took refuge on board the L' Amitie. The little boat
and the Gaulette were already in the rolling waves,
in which they were every now and then lolt to the
eye •, they feemed fearful of putting to fea, but at
length, they allo hoifted fail, exciting uneafinefs and
prayers for their fafety, in all who beheld them. At
two hours end the whole of this fleet difappeared in
the N, W-. being invelop'd in a gloomy horizon.

ABOUT 3 in the afternoon the hurricane announced
itfelf by a moft tremendous noife •, the wind blew
from all quarters fuccefllvely. The fea — beaten —
and agitated to the greateft degree — threw upon the
land, clouds of foam, fand, fliells and ftones. Some
boats refitting at fifty paces from the water-fide were
buried under the furge. The wind carried away a fheet
of lead from the roof of the church, and the colo-
nade from the governors houfe. The hurricane laf-
ted all night ajid till 3 in the morning.

ON

190 VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE.

ON the 6th, the two firft mips that returned to an-
chor were the little boat and the Gaukttc •, they
brought a letter from the Penthievre which had lolt
lier top-gallant-mail. Themfelves had met with no
accident — The loweft ftations are often the leaft
liable to misfortune.

The 8th, the Gerion appeared — fhe had been dri-
ven fo near the Ifle of France that me put into the
harbour -, where fhe learnt that the Garronne Pink,
foundered while at anchor.

By about the i 8th we had tidings of all the mips,
except the Amide and the Indien. The fize and
ilrength of the Indien iecmed to fecure her againft
all events, and we did not doubt but that me would
continue her voyage to the Cape of Good Hope,
there, take in provifions, and go from thence to
France. Befides I knew this to be the Captain's
intention.

THE 1 9th in the morning, a fignal was made that a
(hip was in fight •, it was the Normande, Pink ; fhe
palled by St. Denis, and anchored at St. Paul. She
came from the Ifle of France and was going to the
Cape for provifions. This opportunity was too fa-
vourable a one to be neglected by me and an officer
with me. Monlieur and Maclamoifelle Cremon
provided us with beds and linen for the voyage,
we got horfes and guides to go to St. Paul, and were
accompanied thither by a relation of Monfieur Cremon,

MY effects being yet on board the Indien, I was
deftitute of every thing except linen, which I had
brought on more with me.

WE fet out on the 2Oth at eleven in the morning,
we had feven leagues to go. The Pink was to fail in
the evening, and therefore having no time to lofe,
we took leave of our holts. OUR

VOYAGE to lie ISLE OF FRANCE. 191
OUR horfes began forthwith to climb the mountain

C5

of St. Denis, by zig-zag paths, paved with fharp
ftones. They were very ftrong, and fure footed,
and, according to the cuftom of the country, they
were unihod.

AT two leagues and a half from St. Denis we
found under foine citron trees at the brink of a rivu-
let, a dinner, which M. de Cremon had caufed to be
provided for us.

AFTER dinner, we defcended and came to the Grand
Chaloupe. *Tis a frightful valley formed by two moun-
tains that are very iteep. We walked part of the way
which the rain had rendered dangerous, and at the bot-
tom we found ourfelves between the two mountains,
in the itrangeft folitude I had ever feen ; we were in a
manner between two walls, the heavens only being
over our heads : we crofted the rivulet and came at
length to the more oppofite to the CbaUupe : at the
bottom of this abyfs, there reigns an eternal calm,
however the winds blew on the mountains.

AT two leagues from St. Paul we entered into a
large plain of fand extending as far as the town,
which is built like St. Denis. There are large lawns
encompafied with hedges in regular rows, and in the
middle is the houfe were the family lives. Thefe
towns have the air of large villages.

ST. PAUL is fituated by the fide of a great lake of
frem water, of which a port might I apprehend be
made.

IT was night e'er our arrival there ; we were much
fatigued, and knew neither where to lodge, nor where
to get bread, there being no baker at St. Paul.

MY

192 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

MY firft care was to fpeak with the Captain of the
Normande whom I luckily found on more. He told
us he would not venture to take us on board without
an order from the Governor of the Ifle of France,
who was then at St. Denis, and that he mould not
fail till next morning.

I immediately wrote to the Governor and to Ma-
damoifelle Cremon. I gave my two letters to a black,
promifmg to reward him if he returned by eight
o'clock next morning. It was then ten at night and
he had fourteen leagues to travel on foot.

I found out my comrades, who were fupping at the
ftore keepers. They lodged us in a houle belonging
to the King, unfurnifhed, except with chairs, of
which we made beds. We were up betimes. At
nine o'clock the anfwers to my letters were brought
by a black whom my meffenger had fent in his room.
What was our aftonifhment when we read that the
Governor had left the mailer to his difcretion.

AT laft after many negotiations and after having
given him bills of payment for our pafTage he agreed
to take us, and the departure of the Ihip was deferred
till next day.

THE following account is all I could collect rela-
tive to Bourbon. It is well known that the firft in-
habitants were pirates, who cohabited with negroe
women from Madagascar. They fixed here firft
about the year 1657. The India company had alfo
at Bourbon a factory, and a governor who lived with
them in great circumfpection. The Viceroy of
Goa came one day to anchor in the road of St. Denis
and was to dine with the Governor. He had fcarcely

fet

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 193

ifet his foot on more before a pirate fliip of fifty guns
anchored along fide his veflel and took her, The
Captain landed forthwith, and demanded to dine at
the Governors. He feated himfelf at table between
him, and the Portugueze Viceroy, to whom he de-
clared, that he was his prifoner. Wine and good
cheer having put the feaman in good humour, Mon-
tk'ur Desforges (the Governor) alked him at how
much he rated the Viceroy's ranfom. " I mud have
(f;:icl the Pirate) a thoufand piafters." That's too
little (laid Monfieur Desforges,) for a brave fellow
like you, to receive from a great Lord like him, —
afk enough, or alk nothing." " Well, well, then I
afk nothing, (replied the generous Corfair) — let him
be free."

THE Viceroy reimbarked inflantly, and fet fail,
happy at having efcaped on fuch good terms, This
piece of fervice of the Governor was recompenfed
fnortly after by the court of Portugal, who prefen-
ted his fon with the order of Chrift.

THE Pirate afterwards fettled on the ifland, and
was hanged, a confiderable time after an amnefty had
been publifhed in favour of his companions, and in
which he had failed to get himfelf included. This injuf-
ftice was the work of a * Confeiller^ who was defirous of
appropriating his fpoils to his own ufe. But this laft
Villain, a little while after, came to nearly as wretch-
ed an end, although the juflice of men did not reach
hhn.

It is not long, fince the lad of thefe pirates whole
name was Adam^ died, aged 104 years.

* In the Frcnth courts of judicature, the judges are called

Con/til/ers (Counfellors), and the Barrifteis, are called Avocatt
Advocates, T.

O WHEN

194- VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

WHEN fnore peaceable occupations had foftened
their manners, there remained among them a fpirit
only of independance and of liberty, which correct-
ed itfelf ilill more in the fociety of many worthy
people who eftabli fried in Bourbon for the purpofe of
cultivation. Sixty thoufand blacks are reckoned to
live in Bourbon and only five thoufand inhabitants.
This ifhnd is thrice as populous as the lile of France,
on which it depends for its export traffick. It is
alib much better cultivated, having produced twenty
thoufand quintals of corn and as much of coffee,
befides rice and other provilions for home confump-
tion. Herds of oxen are not fcarce there. The
King pays * fifteen livres per Cwt. of corn, and the
inhabitants fell -f- a quintal of coffee for forty-five
livres in piaflres, and feventy livres in paper.

THE principal place in Bourbon is St. Denis, the
refidence of the governor and council. Nothing
worth remark is to be feen here except a redoubt
built of ftone, but fituated too far from the fea, —
a battery before ' the governor's houfe, and the draw-
bridge before-mentioned. Near the town is a large
plain called Le Champ de Lorraine.

THE foil feemed to be more fandy at Bourbon than
at the lile of France : it is mixed at fome diftance
from land, with the fame kind of fmall pebbles with
which the fea fhore is covered, — a proof that the fea
has withdrawn itfelf, or that the ifland is rifenout of the
ocean. This I think might be the cafe, if wemayjudge
from the mountains, which are full of chafms, and very
rugged and broken in their interior parts. When we
fpeculate upon nature, oppofite opinions always pre-

* About thirteen fhillings fterling.
t A quintal is equal to a cwt, Engliih.

fcnt

V O Y A G E to tie ISLE OF FRANCE. 195

flnt themfelves with a nearly equal appearance of
probability. — The fame effects frequently refult from
different caufes. This obfervation might be extend-
ed very far, and fhouid induce us to be very mode-
rate in our deciiions.

A man of eighty years of age aflured me that he had
been one of thole who took pofifeffion of the Ifle of
France when the Dutch abandoned it. Twelve
Frenchmen were detached for that purpofe, who
landed in the morning, and in the afternoon of the
fame day, an Engiiih ihip anchored there, for the
lame purpofe.

THE manners of the firfl inhabitants of Bourbon
were very limple, the greater number of the houfes
were not made to mut, — a lock was a curiofity. Some
people even put their money in a tortoife-mell overtheir
door. They dreffed in blue cloth, went bare-footed,
and lived upon rice and coffee ; they imported but
little from Europe, content to live without luxury fo
they lived without want. Theyjoined to this moderation
the virtues which ever attend it : good faith in com-
merce, and gencrofity in their proceedings. As foon
as a ftranger appeared, the inhabitants came to him,
and as a ftranger offered him their houfes.

The laft war in the Indies has made a change in their
manners. The volunteers of Bourbon diitinguimed
themfelves in it by their bravery; but the ftuffs of Afia
and the military diftinctions of France, thereby got
footing in their ifland. The children, richer than their
parents require to be treated with more confideration.
They have now no enjoyment of an unnoticed good-
fortune, but feek in Europe, pleafures and honours,
in exchange for domeftic happinefs, and the quiet of
a eoimtry life. The attention of the fathers being
O 2 chiefly

196 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

chiefly fixed upon their fons, they fend them to Francey
from whence they feldom return. Hence it is, that
in this ifland there are more than five hundred mar-
riageable girls, who are likely to die without hui-
bands.

We went on board the Nor mande on the 2 1 ft in
the evening. We found a cafe of wines, of liquors,
coffee, &c. which Monfieur and Madernoifclie Cre-
mon had caufed to be put on board for our ufe.
We were received at their houfe with the hofpitality
of the ancient inhabitants of Bourbon, and the po-
litenefs of Parifians,

I am, &c.
BOURBON, December 21, 1770,

LET-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 197

LETTER XX.

DEPARTURE FROM BOURBON,
ARRIVAL AT THE CAPE.

WE left the bay of St. Paul at ten
o'clock at night. The fea here is calmer,
and the anchorage farer than at St. Denis, the road
of which is fpoiled by a vaft number of anchors left
there by mips. Their cables cut prefently. Yet the
ieamen prefer St. Denis.

When the wind blows into the bay of St. Paul,

there is no getting out of it, and if a vefiel mould

run on more, me muft certainly be loft ; the fea
breaking upon a very high fand.

On the 23d we loft fight of Bourbon. The fervt-
ces we had received from Monfieur and Mademoifelle
de Cremon while we ftaid, the fair winds, a good
table, and the company of Monfieur de Roflbos our
captain condoled us for our difappointment in not
finding the Indienne,

WE pitied the paflengers on board of her, who
had to undergo at once, very bad weather, and want
of provifions.

O 3 THEY

j 9 S VOYAGE to tfa Is j, E ot FR ANCE .

THEY reckon ninety leagues from Bourbon to the
Cape. On the 6th of January 1/71, in the morn-
ing we faw Point Natal ten leagues a head of us.
In three days we hoped to be on board the Indienne.
We went before the wind aM the way till Monday.
It fell calm in the evening, and was iultry hot. At
midnight it light'ned prodigioufiy, and the horizon
was every where covered witn large and heavy black
clouds. The fea fhone with the fifhes which played
round our fliip.

At three in the morning a contrary wind blew
from the W. with fuch violence that it obliged us to
make for the Cape under our mizen. The tempeft
drove on board of us a little bird like a titmouie.
The coming of land birds on board of fliips is al-
ways a fign of bad weather, as it proves that the vi-
olence of the florin extends far over the land.

ON the third dsy e£ the ftorm v/e perceived that.
our mizen-mail was fprung four fce-t above the yard
—we reefed the fails, ftrengthened the mail with ropes
aftd tofets -of weed, a«d itood for the Cape under a
mainfail.

THE fea was tremendous and hid the horizon from
u?.. We were much lurprized to fee within cannon-
ing a Dutch veflirl ikerrng ac v/e clid. It was im-
pofiiblt to Ipeak \vita her -, the fifrh day the wind
abated. The rnizcn-niail was examined, and found
able a?oksn through.. Tiiis acccident cauled

i!« to reciuubk: our efforts .to reach die Cape.

THE bad weather occa%med us to lofe way, which
the calm now £>rc*ented our recovering.

ON

VOYAGE to tbn ISLE OF FRANCS. 199

ON the twelfth we again faw the Dutch fhip, and
fpoke to her. She very warily came up to us with
her matches alight, and her guns run out : (he came
from Batavia, and was going to the Cape.

AT length on the flxtecnth of January we faw the
Cape, over our {larboard quarter. We beat about
all night. On the feventcenth in the morning a vio-
lent gale blew. The air was darkened with a thick
fog, which totally hid the land. We were near mif-
fing the entrance of the bay when we perceived in a
part which cleared up for a moment, a corner of the
table mountain. We directly loughed up, and about
noon found ourfelves near the coait, which is very
high. Jt is entirely bare of trees ; the higher part
riles to a point, formed by the declivities of parallel
rocks i it refembles the walls of an old fortification
with their talus.

WE came under the land. At nio-ht we found

O

ourfelves behind the lion mountain, which at a dif-
tance appears like a lion couchant. The head is
formed by a great rock, and detached from the body,
which is compoled of the ridges of different hills.
From the head of the lion, they give fignals to mips.

Here the wind failed us, being flickered from it
by the lion. We were forced, in order to enter the
bay, to pafs between the iiland of Roben, which we
faw before us on our left, and a neck of land called
the point, which is found at the foot of the lion.
We were within two cannon-mot, and our impatience
redoubled. From hence we could perceive the fhips
in the road, and the Indienne could npt be the lealt
remarkable among them.

Q 4

aoo VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

AT laft the tide making, we faw, from the tops,
twelve veflels fuccefliveJy appear, which were lying
at anchor. But none of them had French colours.
It was the Dutch fleet.

We caft anchor at the mouth of the bay. At
three in the afternoon, the Commandant of the bay
came on board, and allured us that the Indienne had
not appeared.

At the bottom of the bay we faw the table moun-
tain, which is the higeft land on this coaft. Its top
is level, and fteep on all fides, like an altar -. the city
is at the foot of it, upon the edge cf the bay. There
frequently gathers upon the table, a thick fog, heap-
ed up as it were, and white as fnow. When this
happens, the Dutch fay, the cloth is laid.

THE Commandant of the bay hoi(ls his flag, as a
fignal for the veffels to be upon their guard, and a
prohibition for the (loops to put to lea. From this
cloth dcfcend whirlwinds mingled with fog like long
flakes of wool. The earth is covered with clouds of
fhnd, and mips are often forced to fet fail. This gale
Seldom rifes in this feafon but at about ten in the
morning, and laits till evening. Sailors are very
fond of the land at the Cape, but arc afraid of the road,
which is moil dangerous from April to September.

IN 1722 the whole India fleet periihed at anchor,
except two mips. Since that time no Dutch fhip is
allowed to anchor there after the fixth of March.
They "go ttfFalfe-bay, where they are under Ihelter.

AN attempt was made to have formed the road in-
to a harbour with only one opening, by joining the
point aiipwdus to the ifle of Roben j but it did not
"ktccecd.

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 201

I hoped to have landed that evening, but was pre-
vented by 'a breeze from off the land.

EARLY in the morning the Normande anchored
nearer to the town. — It is compofed of white {tones
in ftrait rows, which at a diftance look like houfes
built with cards.

AT fun rife, three fhallops very prettily painted
came on board us. They were fent by the town's-
people, who invited us to land and lodge among
them. I went on board a Ihallop of a German's,
who affured me that for my money I mould be well
accommodated at Monfieur Nedling's.

IN our way acrofs the road, I reflected upon the
fingular fituation I was in •, to find myfelf, without
clothes, money, or acquaintance, among Hollanders,
r.t the very extremity of Africa. But my reflections
were interrupted by a fpeftacle quite new to me. We
paflcd by a number of fea-calves, Iving at their eafe
upon floats of fea-weed, like the long horns with
v.-hich fhepherds call their flocks together : Penguins
fwam quietly within reach of pur oars ; fea fowls
came and perched upon the fhallop, and on my land-
ing upon the fand I even faw two pelicans at play with
a large maftiff, and taking his head into their great
beak.

J conceived a good opinion of a land, in which
hofpitality and good will mewed themfelves fo con-
fpicuoufly even among the brute creation.

CAPE OF GOOD-HOPE, January 10, ijji.

LET.

202 VOYAGE to the ISLE of FRANCE,

LETTER XXI.

Of the CAPE, our excurfion to CONSTANCE
and the TABLE MOUNTAIN.

THE flreets at the Cape are very ftrak, Come of
them are watered with canals and mofi of them
planted with chefnut trees. It was very pleafmg to.
fee them covered with leaves in the month of Janua-
ry. The front of the houfes were fhaded with their
foliage, and at the two (ides of the doors were feats
of brick or turf, on many of which fat ladies with
clear and ruddy complexions. I was rejoiced, at
once more feeing the countenances and the architecture
of Europeans.

I walked through fome part of the place, with my
guide, to Madame Nedling's, a fat Dutchwoman,
who was very fprightly. She was drinking tea a-
mong feven or eight officers of the fleet, who were
fmoaking their pipes. She fhewed me a very neat
apartment and allured me that every thing in her
kouft w.as at my feryicc.

WHEN a man has feen one Dutch town he has feen
them all : 'tis the fame here, — the order cf each houie
is alike. The cuftom of Madame Nedling's was
this, there was always company in the parlour, and
a table covered with peaches, melons, apricots, rai-
iins, pears, chetfe, frefh butter, wine, pipes and

tobacco.

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 203

and tobacco. At eight o'clock tea and coffee is rea-
dy for breakfaft. At noon they have game and fifh
in plenty for dinner — at four they drink coffee and
tea, at eight they have a flipper as plentiful as their
dinner, — Thefe good people are eating from morn-
ing till ni_ihi.

E expence of boarding in this manner, was for-
merly no more than halt a piaftre, or fifty French
ibis (a trifle more than two fhiilings) per day, but
foine French orncers of the marine, in order to diilinr
guiih theinlelvts from other nations, raifed the price
to a piaftre, which is now common'y paid.

THIS price is enormous, when we confider the
great plenty of provifions ; —it is true, that more
elegance is to be found here than in our bed taverns.
The fcrvants of the houfe are at your command ; you
may invite whom you pleafe, and may pafs ibme days
at your landlord's country-houfe, and have the life of
jiis carriage, without any additional expence.

AITER dinner I went to fee Monfieur Tolbac, the
Governor, a man of eighty years of age, whofc me-
rit procured him this government fifty years ago.
He invited me to dinner the next day. I had ap-
prized him of my fituation, of which he feemed very
ienfibk.

I THEN walked in the Company's garden -, it is
.divided into four quarters, and watered by a rivulet.
Each quarter is bordered by a row of chefout-trees,
twenty feet high. Thefe pallifadoes flicker the plants
from the wind, which always blows hard ; they have
even had the precaution to defend the young trees of
the avenues, by a fcreen of reeds.

I SAW

204 VOYAGE to the 1: LI OF FP.A?;CE.

I SAW in this garden the plants of Afia and Africa,
but particularly the trees of Europe, covered v/ith
fruits at a kafon when I lad never before feen lc:
on them.

, I RECOLLECTED that an Officer in the King's fer-
vice, named the Vifcount du Chaila, had at my leav-
ing the lile of France, given me a letter for Monfieur
clu Berg, Secretary of the Council. This letter was
in my pocket, having had no time to put it among
my other papers on board the Indienne, I therefore
waited on Monfieur de Berg, and delivered it to him.

HE received me very cordially, and as he made me
an offer of his purfe, I made ufe of his credit for
fuch things as I absolutely wanted. I afked him if
I could not procure a paffage on board an India fhip,
fix of which were then going away, and the other fix
were to go in the beginning of March.

HE allured me it was impOiTible -, — that the Dutch
India Company had abfciuteiy forbidden it. Indeed
the Governor had told me as much, I was therefore
reduced to the neceflity of ftaying at the Cape tik
ibme other opportunity offered of getting away.

AN unforefeen accident had brought me thither,
and I hoped for another that mould carry me away
again.

HOWEVER, the fociety of a good tempered and
happy fet cf people, added to the plenty of every fort
of provifions, made my confinement very fupport-
able.

MONSIEUR de Berg's fon invited me to go to Con-
Stance, a famous plantation of vineyards, fituated

about

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 205

:Jbout four leagues off. We flept at his country-
houie, bthinu the table-mountain, at two fhort leagues
diilance from the town. We walked thither through
;i beautiful avenue of chefnut-trees. We faw there —
vineyards, ripe for vintage — orchards, chelhut-groves,
and a very great abundance of fruits and vegetables.

THE next day we continued our route to Con-
ftance -, it is a litile hill, rifmg to the north (which is
here the fide of the fun at noon). On our approach,
we paifed through a v/ood ox' filver trees, (rirbres
& Argent ;) They rdcmble the pine-tree, have a leaf
like the willow, and are covered with a white down,
which is very ihining.

THIS foreft feemed to be all of filver. When the
wind blew them about and the fun mone, each leaf
glittered like a plate of metal. We walked through
thefe groves, fo rich and fo delightful, in order to
look at the vines, which though lefs iplendid in ap-
pearance, are of far greater utility.

A BROAD avenue of old chefnut-trees conducted us
to the vineyard of Conftance. Over the front of the
houie we faw a vile painting of a ftrapping girl, and
ugly enough, reclining on a pillar. I took it for a
Dutch allegorical figure of chaftity : but they told
me it was the portrait of a Madam Conftantia, daugh-
ter of a Governor of the Cape. He caufed this houfe
to be built with deep ditches round it like a fortifica-
tion. He propofed to raife it a ftory or two higher,
but was prevented by orders from Europe.

WE found the matter of the houfe fhioking his
pipe in his night-gown. He carried us into his
cellar, and made us tafte his wine. It was in little
calks called atverames, containing about ninety pints,

ranged

206 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

ranged very regularly under ground. There were
thirty of them. This vineyard, in common years,
produces two hundred. He iells the red wine at thir-
ty-five piaftres per alverame, and the white for thirty.
The eitate is his own, conditionally, that he fhall re-
ferve fome wine yearly for the Company, who pay
him for it. This he told us himfelf.

HAVING tafted his wine, we went into his vine-
yard. The tafte of the mufcadine grapes was per-
fectly like that of the wine. The vine,? are not upon
efpalieres, and the grapes are but a little way from
the ground. They let them ripen till the fruit is
about half preferved by the fun. We tafted another
fort of raifms, whicli are very iweet, but not mufca-
dine. They make a wine of them which is of an
extravagant price, but is a very fine cordial.

THE Conftance wine, derives its quality from the
particular nature of the foil. They have planted the
fame (locks, and treated them in the fame manner at
a place called Lower-Conftance, a quarter of a league
from hence but they have degenerated ; as I perceived
when I tafted them. The price, as well as the tafte
is very inferior, it being fold for twelve piaftres the
alverame ; there are fome knaves at the Cape, who
fometimes are too fharp for ftrangers in this parti*
cular.

NEAR the vineyard is a garden of immenfe ex-
tent, I faw in it, moft of our fruit-trees, in hedges
and efpaliers, loaded with fruit. They are rathef
inferior to ours, except the grape, which I prefer.
The olives here are not pleaiant.

WHEN we returned from ovir walk, we found a
plentiful breakfaft ; our landlady overwhelmed us

with

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 207

•with kindnefs •, flie defcended from a French refugee*,
and fecmed in raptures at the fight of one of her
countrymen. Her hulband and (he fhewed me a
large hollow chefnut-tree, before the door of the
houfe 'in which they fometimes dined. Their union
was like that of Baucis and Philemon^ nor were they
Ids happy, — except that the hufband had the gout,
and the wife cried when any body fpoke of France.

FROM Conflance to the Cape you travel through
an uncultivated plain, covered with fhrubs and plants.
We flopped at Neuhafen, one of the Company's
gardens ; 'tis laid out as thofe in the town are,
but is more fertile. All this part, is not expofed to
the wind, like the territory of the Cape where fo
much duft is blown up, that moft of the houfes
have double fafhes to the windows, to fecure them.
In the evening we arrived at the town.

SOME days after, my landlord, Monfieur Nedling,
invited me to his country-houfe, near that of Mon-
fieur de Berg. We fet out in his voiture, (whether
coach or cart dees net appear) drawn by fix horfes.
We pafled many days there in the moil delightful
tranquillity. The ground was ftrewed with peaches,
pears, and oranges, which nobody gathered ; the
walks were maded with moft beautiful trees. I
meafured a chefnut-tree, which was eleven feet in
circumference ; it is faid to be the moft ancient tree
in the whole country.

THE gd of February my hoft propofcd to fome
Hollanders, to go upon Tableberg, a fteep moun-

* The Abbe de la Caille fays, that the French tongue was no
longer fpoken among thedefcendants of the Refugees, — except by
the few then alive, who were the immediate children of thofc who
left France, between the years 1680, and 1690. T.

tain,

2t>8 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

tain, at whofe foot, the town appears to ftand. 7
was of the party. We fet out at two o'clock in the
morning, on foot. The moon fhone very bright.
We left on our right a rivulet, which runs from the
mountain, and directed our courfe to an opening in
the middle, and which appeared from the town like
a chafm in an old wall. On our way we heard fome
wolves howl, and fired feveral guns to difperfe them.
The way is rugged to the foot of the mountain, but
from thence upwards, is much more fo. The leem-
ing apertute in the table, is an oblique feparation, of
more than mufquet-mot wide at its lower entrance •,
above, it is not more than two toifes. This cavity is
like a very fteep (lair-cafe, rilled with fand and loofe
pieces of rocks. We climbed it, having to the right
and left, precipices two hundred feet high. Great
mafiy pieces of ftone project, and are ready to roll
down. — The water drops from the cracks of the-
rocks, and nou rimes a variety of aromatic plants.
We heard during this excurfion, the howlings of ba-
vians, a fort of large monkeys, refembling bears,

AFTER three days and a half's fatigue, We feachect'
the top of the table. The fun rofe over the fea,
and ks rays enlightened on our right-hand, the
fteep fummits of the tiger, and of four other chains
of mountains, the moft diilant of which feemed the
higheft. On our left, and a little behind us, we
faw, as upon a plan, the I He of Penguins, then
Conftance, Falfe-Bay, and the Lion-Mountain : be-
fore us was the Jfie of Roben. The town was at
our feet. We diftinguimed even the fmalleft ftreets
of it. The vaft fquares of the Company's garden,
with its avenues of chefnuts, and its lofty efpaliers,
appeared but as a parterre, with borders of box ; the
citadel as a little pentagon, the fize of one's hand,
and the India (hips, as walnut-Ihells, I felt a kind

of

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 209

of pride at the thoughts of my elevated ftation, 'till
1 law eagles hovering above me, fo high, that they
were nearly out of fight.

AFTER all, it would have beeri impofTible to have
thought, bun with contempt of iuch trifling objects,
and efpecially of men who appeared to us like ants,
if we had not felt the fame wants as ever. We. were
cold and hungry. A fire was kindled, and we break-
fatted. After breakfaft, our Dutchmen hoifted a
cloth at the end of a ftick, as a iignal of our arrival :
but in about half an hour they took it down, left it
mould be miftaken for a French fag. The fummit
of Tableberg, is a plain flat rock, which I take to
be about half a league long, and about a quarter
broad. 'Tis a fpecies of white quarry, covered here
and there, with about an inch or two's depth cf black
mould, mixed with land and Y/h/te travel. We
found ibme little pools of water, for/red by the
clouds, which frequently are flopped here,

THE ftrata of this mountain are parallel ; I could
find no fofils there. The lower rock is a kind of
brown free-ftone, which turns to land if expofed
to the air. Some pieces of it referable pieces of
bread, with their cruft. Although the foil of the
fummit has fo very little depth, it grows a prodi-
gious number of plants.

I GATHERED fix fpecies of the i)'jmortajs^ fome
fmall myrtles, a filex, which fmells like tea, a flower
like the imperial, of a line purple-colour, and many
others whole names I did not know. I found there,
a plant, whofe flower is red, but without fmell ± by
its appearance, one would have thought it a tubercle.
Kach ftalk has two or three leaves turned up toge-
ther, and holding a little water. The moft iingular

P of

2io VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

of all, becaufe unlike to any vegetable I had ever
feen, — is a flower, round like a rofe, of the fize of
a fhilling, and entirely flat. This flower glitters with
the utmoil brilliancy — It has neither ftalk nor leaf —
It grows very thick upon the gravel, to which it is
held by imperceptible fibres. When taken up into
the hand, nothing can be perceived but a (limy fub-
itance.

HERE are five entire plants, which feem to aftect
in this configuration, a refemblance to only one part
of what is common to other plants. Firft the Noitoc,
which is only a fap, as it were •, fecondly a chevelu,
(a fmall root or fibre ifiuing from another root)
which grows upon the tops of nettles •, thirdly,
a lichen, or mofs, refemblmg a leaf; fourthly, the
ingulated flower of the t^ble-hill • fifthly, the trufie
of Europe, which is a fruit. I might add, the root
of the groffe (or grofTo) of the ifje ot France, if it was
not an initance by itfelf.

I AM much inclined to believe, that nature has
adopted this plan among animals. — I know many,
marine ones, eipecially, which in form refemble the
members only of other animals.

IN my walk, I reached the extremity of the table,
from whence I hailed the appearance of the Atlantic
Ocean, for having doubled the Cape of Good Hope,
you are no longer in the Indian ocean. I did homage
to the memory of Vafco de Gama, who dared firft to
go round this promontory of tcmpcfts. All maritime
nations mould have combined to erccl a ftatue of him
at this place, before which I would moil willingly havq
madealibationofConftancewine,in honour of hisheroic
perfeverance. It is however doubtful, whether Gama
was the firft who opened a commerce with the Indies

by

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 21 r

by the Cape of Good Hope. Pliny lays, that Hanno
went round from the lea of Spain as far as Arabia, as
may be feen, lays he further, by the memoirs he has
left of that voyage in writing. Cornelius Nepos *
declare0., he had fee-n a Captain of a fliip, who flying
from the anger of King jLathyrus, went from the Red
Sea to Spain. And long before this, even C<elius
Antipater, affirmed, that he had known a Spanifh,
merchant who traded by fea to /Ethiopia.

HOWEVER this be, — the Cape, fo terrible to mari-
xners for its tempeilupus fea, is a vail mountain, —
lituated fixteen leagues from hence -, it gives its name
to this town, notwithstanding fo far off. - It ter-
minates the moll fouthern part of Africa. In trea-
ties, it is looked upon a,s a point, beyond which,
naval captures are lawful many months after the
have been at peace in Europe-.

PEACE has frequently been feen here on the right,
and war on the left hand between Hags of the fame-
nations -, but it has been more often feen, that they
have maintained a good underitanding in thefe roads,
when difcora has reigned in every place elfe through-

* Neco, KingofEgypr, Tent out forne Phoenicians flvps with
orders to go down the Rcd-iea, and hiving pone round ther.ce
to ilic north- iea — in icturn home t- rou»h the Pillars of Hercules.
• — I hey la:>deu in A'rica, fovvfd corn, waited tho harfeit, and
then again embark-.-tl, — they diJ the like the year fo lowjnp, and
in the coiirfe of the third year landfd in 1'gypt, havingpaflet), as
directed, between t'-'.c llercul.-an columns, and through the Medi^,
t-rr.mean f;a. - Herodotus, from whom this account is ta-
ken, fnys, " On (lu ir return they related, what, if others give
" ere Jit Tto, 1 confefs I cannot, \'n.. that, in their way round
" Africa, th • fun was on t .fir right-h;ind." T. See HUKOD.
4. book, for thr account of t'A; ;.T\ diiio'-., and cf another undntaktit

P 2 OUt

4 12 VOYAG E to tbe ISLE OF FRANCE,

out the two hemifpheres. I could not but behold
with admiration, this happy (hore, which war has
never yet made defolate •, and which is inhabited by
a people, ufcful to the whole world, from the re-
fources of its ceconomy, and the extent of its com-
merce. The difpofitions of men are not entirely de-
pendent Upon the climate they live in •, nor is this
wife and peaceable nation indebted for their man-
ners to the foil of their country. Piracy, and civil
wars agitate the Regencies of Algiers, Morocco, and
Tripoli -, but at the other extremity of Africa, the
Dutch have eftablimed a iettlement blefled with agri-
culture and concord.

I BEpuiLED my walk by thefe pleating reflections,
fo rarely to be made in any other part of the world ;
but the heat of the fun obliged me to feek for a Ihel-
ter. There is none but at the entrance of the ravin.
Here I found my companions repofmg by the fide of
a fpring. As they began -to grow tired, they deter-
mined upon" returning. It was high noon. — We de^-
fcended, fome by fitting down and fuffering them-
felves to flide, — others-, upon their hands and knees.
The rocks and fand gave way when we trod upon
them. .The fun was nearly vertical, and the rays
reflected from the collateral rocks^ made the heat
almoft infupportable. We frequently quitted the
path, and fled to the made of fome point of the rock
to take breath. My knees failed j and I had a vio-
lent thirft upon me : towards the evening we ar-
rived at the town. Madame Nedling expected us>
and had prepared refreshments againil our return.
We had lemonade, with nutmeg and wine in it.'
Of this we drank without danger, and went to bed.
No excurfion had ever proved fo entertaining to
me, nor was reft ever before fo welcome.
• CAPE OF GOOD-HOPE, Feb. 6, 1771.

LET-

VOYAGE to the ISLZ OF FRANCE. 313

LETTER XXII.

-Qualities of the AIR and SOIL of the CAPE OF
GOOD-HOPE.

PLANTS, INSECTS, and ANIMALS.

TH E air of the Cape is very healthy. It is re-
fremed by the fouth-ealt winds, which are fo
cold, even in the midft of fummer, that cloth is worn
here all the year round. Its latitude is, notwith-
ftanding thirty-three degrees fouth. But I am per-
fuaded that the fouth pole is much colder than the
north.

THERE are but few diforders incident to the peo-
ple of the Cape. The fcurvy is foon cured, altho*
there are no lea turtles. But the fmali-pox on the
other hand, makes moil dreadful ravages, — many
of the inhabitants are deeply fcarred with it. It is
reported to have been introduced here by a fhip
from Denmark. Mod cf the Hotentots who caus-ht;

O '

it, died. Since which time, they are reduced to a
very fmall number, and they ieldom come down
to the town.

THE foil of the Cape is a fandy gravel, mingled
with a white earth. I don't know whether preci-
ous minerals are a part of its productions. The

P 3 Putch

214 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FIIANCE.

Dutch formerly hud gold mines at L;;goa, in the
in-eights of Moiambique, and had alib a fettiemvnt
there, but were forced to abandon it, on account of
the badnefs of the air *.

I HAVE lien at the houfe of the Fort-Major, a ful-
phureous earth, in v/hich were pieces of wood, re-
duced to a cinder \ alio true '<.yp]uvn, and black cubes
of all fizes, united as it were by amalgamation, with-
out having loft their ill ape. Theie laft are believed
to be iron ore.

I SAW no tree peculiar to the country but the tree
cf gold, and tree of filvcr, the wood of v/hich is on-
ly tit to burn. The former differs from the latter in
nothing but the colour of its leaf, which is yellow.
There are fa id to be forefts of t-hde within land •, but
in this part, the ground is covered with a variety of
flowering, and other ihrubs. This confirms my opi-
nion, that they flourifh only in a temperate air, their
calice being formed to imbibe no more than, a moderate
neat.

AMKJXG -the plants which feemed inofl worthy of
notice, cxclulivc of thcie already mentioned, are, a
red flower, which rdembics a tutted butterfly, with
legs, four wings, and a tail. A. ipecies of hyacinth,
with a long ftalk, all the flowers of which are formed
at the top, like the buds o/ the imperial: another
bulbous flower, growing in the marfhes •, it is like a
large red tulip, in the center of which is a multitude
of iimll flowers.

A SHRUB, whofe flower refembks a large artichoak^
of a fleili colour. Another common fhrub, of which

* Bad irtderd is that air whick'will drive a Putchnian from a
gold in inc. '/"..

the

VOYAGES to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 215

they make beautiful hedges : It bears clufters of pa-
pilionaceous flowers of a rofe-colour. They are iuc-
ceeded by leguminous gruins.

I BROUGHT fome of them to planr in France, which
flood the winter in 177?! and vegetated in the King's
garden in 1772,

AMONG the infe£b I have fecn here, is a beautiful
red gralshopper, ^x-ckled with black ; fome very
fine butterflies, and another very fmgular infect -, —
'tis a little brovn fcaruUuu.s, and runs very fall ;
when attempted to be taken, it emits with nolle a
wind, followed by a little finoak ; if the linger is
touched by this vapour, a brown llain enfues, which
laits fome days. He repents this operation many
times fucceiliyely. The inhabitant call it the can •
nonier.

THS Humming-Bird is r4ot uncommon here. I
faw one of the ilzc qi a walnut, of a changeable green
colour on the b^lly. It had a collar of red feathers,
which flione upon his rtomach like rubies •, its wings
were brown, like a fparrow's, and appeared upon
his beautiful plumage like a furtout. His beak v/as
black, of a good length, and being curved, was of a
proper fhape to leek for honey in die bofom of flow-
ers. It had a long and taper tongue. It lived leve-
ral days. I faw it cat flies, nnd drink fugared water.
But as it was attempting to bathe in the cup fet for
that purpofc, its feathers adhered together, and the
fame night the muiquitos devoured it.

I HAVE feen fome birds of the colour of fire, with
a belly and hc.id like black velvet j they become
brown in the winter. Some of them change colour
thrice a year. There is alfo a bird of Paradife, but

P 4

?i6 VOYAGE to tl:e ISLI: CF FRANCE.

not fo beautiful as thofe I faw in Alia. I did not
fee one of thefe alive. The Gardner's Friend^ and a
kiiid of Twins are frequently found in gardens. I
wifhed to have taken a (ja:(i')Ui '.r briexd to Europe,—
it would have been of great ,'rrvice there. I cbierved
it to be conftantly employed in catching caterpillars,
and hooking them upon the thorns on the bufh.es.

HERE are eagles, and another bird very near of
the fame fpecies. It is called the Secretary, having
round its neck a row of long quills, fit for writing
with. It has this particularity, that it cannot (land
upright on its legs, which are long, and covered with
fc'ales. It lives upon ferpents only. The length or:
its claws renders it very capable of feizing them, and
this ruff-of feathers round" its neck, protects it from
their bites. This bird alfo ought- to be naturalized
amongft us. The ofbrich is very common here ;
they offered me young ones at a crown each. I have
eaten of their ei_'gs, which are far inferior to thofe of
pullets. The Cafifir is found here, and is covered
v/ith coarfe hair inftead of feathers. There is a pro-
digious number of lea birds, of the names and na-
tures of which, I am entirely ignorant. The eggs
].aid by penguins are thought much of, but I
did not think them extraordinary. They have this
fmgular quality, that the white being boiled, con-
tinues always tranfparent. .

THE fea abounds in fifh, which I thought better
than that cf the I (lands, but inferior to' that of
1'uropc. We find on the fhore fome Ihells, the
paper-nautilus, the meclulVs-head, fome lepas, and
very beautiful iithophytes, which when arranged up-
on pap r, repreient trees, brown, faffron, and pur-
ple. They are, fold to travellers. I faw a fifh here,
of tbe fize and fhape of the blade of a flemifh knife.

It

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 217

It was filvered over and marked naturally on each
fide with the impreffion of two fingers ; here are fea-
calves, whales, lea-cows, codr and a great variety of
other common fifh, of which I mail not fpeak, my
obfervations having been but few, and my knowledge
of ichthyology, but flight.

THERE is very common here, a fpecies of moun-
tain turtle, with yellow fhells, marked with black -,
they are fit for no ufe whatever. There are porcu-
pines, and marmots, which differ from ours in form ;
flags and deer are in plenty, as alfo wild afles, zebras,
&c. An Englifh engineer, fome years ago killed
here a giraffe, or cameleopard, an animal fixteen
feet hi Hi, that browzes on the leaves of trees.

O *

THE lavian^ is a large monkey, made like a bear.
The nature of the monkey feems to have an analogy
with that of every clafs of animals. I remember to
i\ave ieen a fapajou, which had the head and mane of
a lion. That of Madagafcar, called maki, refembles
a leveret, and the orang-outang is like a man.

EVERY day fhewed me fome animals unknown in
Europe, — they feem to have taken refuge in thole
parts of the globe lead frequented by men, whofe
neighbourhood is always fatal to them. The fame
may be faid of the plants, the fpecies of which are
the moil various, the lels cultivated the ground. M.
de Tolbac informed me, that he had fent to Monfieur
Linnaeus of Sweden, fome plants from the Cape, fo
different from plants known in Europe, that this
great Naturalifl wrote to him : " Toil have conferred
• upon me the greateft pleafure ; but you have thrown
*' my whole Jyftem into diforder"

THE

2iS VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

THE horfes of the Cape are good, and the affes
beautiful. The oxen have a large fwelling or excre-
fcence on their necks, formed of fat, and lome frnall
veflels interfperfed. At firft fight, this excrefcence
feems monilrous •> but one may loon perceive that it
is a refervoir,- with which nature, for its lupport, has
furnifhed this animal, deflined to live in the fcorch-
ing plains of Africa. In the dry feaibn, the beaft
grows thin, and the fwelling climinimes ; but reco-
vers idelf, and the wen is recruited with fupplies
ifv'hcn it feeds on green herbs. Other animals under
this clirQate, hate the fame advantages. The camel
has' a bunch, the dromedary has two, in the form of
a faddle. Th<* (Keep has a large tail, ma.de en capu-
chon, or poake,- which is but a lump of fuet, or fc-
vcral pounds weight.

THTV have taijght tli^o^cn here to run almofl \vith
the carts they are .harnelfed to.
»

BEEF and mutton are fo plentiful, that the he?...'s
and feet are thrown away ; \vhich draws the wolves of
a night into the very town. I frequently hear them
howling in- the environs. **Pliny obierves, that the
European lions found in Romania, are more aclive
and ftrongff than tiiofe erf Ajrie, and the wolves of
Africa apd Egypt, he adds, are but fmall, and not
very ftr-ort-g. In fi-i-^l, the solves of the Cape are
much Ids dangerous than ours. I might add, that
this fu£erionty extends even to the men of our con-
tinent. .We have more ipirit yt.i courage than the
Aliatics artd Negroes -, but aJfflfcn^s it woyld be a
commendation more worthy QL-^ could in be laid,
we furpaffed them in juilice, benevolence, and the
other focial virtues.

THE

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 219

THE tiger is more dangerous than the wolf-, he is
cunning as a cat, but wants courage. The dogs at-
tack him fearlefsly.

JT is not the fame with the lion. — As foon as they
hear his roar, terror feizes them. If they fee him,
they Hand, but will not approach him. The hun-
ters moot him with guns of a large bore *. I have

handled

* Our author not having mentioned the elephant,— which is
commonly found and frequently hunted at the Cape, — 1 will in-
fert an abtrafi from the /ibhe de la Caille, which I hope will be

pleiifincr to the reader. " The hunters always feck for the ele-

{' ptK.iit in live neighbourhood of rivers — and attack him in the
44 following manner : Three cavaliers well mounted go out toge-
M ther — two of them remain at a proper d^Hance in the plain, and
•< the third waits the coming of ;h? brail to quench his thirft at
" the river, — of which the thirJ cavalier j»ives notice by a fignal
14 to his companions, — and then pierces him with a Itroke of a

l.f launvC, vyhne drinking. The animal, enraged at the wound,

f* puriues the cavalier, who retires to the plain. One of his
*' companions haftcns to his aid, and attacking1 the elephantf
•4 wou >ds him a fl-cond time. The btail forgetting his firit affail-
" ar.r, purities the lall. — The third cavalifr then advances, and

4t wounds him alio. The creature now difregards the fecond,

44 in like manner as he did the firll — -and follows the third, upon

'* whom he feems oefiruus of wreaking his fury — In the mean

<4 time he lofes blood very (aft, and not the lefs for the violence of
44 his *age> — and he fometimes dies exhaulled before his fir It ene-
4< my return^ to the charge — thi.*, however, is not ufually the
" cafe, and he is then again attacked by the full man, and fo on

41 by the fecond and third — till he expires." 1 have here de-

fcribed the chale only of the elephant — The inhabitants have ma-
ny ways of taking him alive, — fometimes by a female put in 3
park, fenced in for the purpofe, and fometimes in toils, of which
ther are various kinds.

The Abbe then relates a tragical event which happened while
he was at the Cape :— — 4« Three brothers, who had been long
ufcd to this exercifc, were about to return to Holland, but deter-
mined to add one more to their many triumphs. — -The firit bro-
ther pierced the bead and dcaped ; — the fecond wounded him,
but in flying, his horfes fore-feet funk into a mole-hill — and
could not recover before the elephant came up.-— The furious

bzaft

220 VOYAGE fy tic ISLE or Z^Ar.-oi;.

kindled one of them, but few% except peafants of the;
country ear* ufe them.

LIONS are not found within fixty leaguer, oi" the
Cape i this animal inhabits the forefts within land •,
Ziis roaring, at a cliitancc, founds like the grumbling
of diltant thunder.. He feldom attacks man, — he
neither feeksr nor, avoids him ; but if wounded by a
hunter, he v/ill felec> that man among all the reft,
and fpring upon him with an implacable fury. The
Company alk>w privileges and rewards for the encou-
ragement of lion, hunting.

I WAS told the following circumftance by the Go-
vernor, M. Berg, the Fort-major, and the principal
inhabitaats^ who vouched the truth of it :

AT about fixty leagues from the Cape, in the un-
cultivated lands, there is found a prodigious quantity
of fmall CABRIS^ .(gf>att)* I faw fame of them in
t!ie Company's menageries ; they have two fmall
liorns- on their heads ; their hair is fallow coloured
lpcttedv,'lii\ vchlcC. 'ji'hclc; creatures feed in fuch vaft
numbers, that diofc who go firft in the route they
take, di^vour all tlie pafture, and become very fat,
i'nfcfmucJi that their followers, rinding no food, grow

!>eafl (e^cxi the cavalL,- '.vu.fi hTs trunk, tore him from his horfe,,
and whirkd him ujwn tiiegrou:it , — iic then lookup the horfe allo
witli h:s. trunk,. :ni thr/w him fivenl yards into the air, - this
tLcHTir, he returned to the poor man, who lay unable to rife from
the earth, i>nd havinp again fl-ized him, caft him with, all his
might intn the air and: !v Id out his teeth to catch him as he came
down — the unhappy xvrrtch fJiirg ir»m a prodigious height,
upon one of the tecrii, it pierced h m through the body and he
lay there iiiipaled. The fivnge bcaft pcififted in holding him for
(b<rie time m this condition, and feemed to exult over him, by
advancing him towards his companions, who though they faw his*
aac heard the agr-nizing cries he uttered, were wnableto
r.

very

VOYAGE to tht ISLE OF FRANCE. 21*

Very lean. Thus they continue their march in vail
herds, until itopped by lame chain of mountains ;,
they then turn back, -and thofe in the rear, finding
in their turn ircih herbage, recover their good plight,
\vhile thole who were leaders before, loil- their iicjh,
and become lean. Attempts have been mack to form
them into herds, but they cannot be tamed ivifrki-
ently for tha: purpole. Thefe innumerable armies
are conitantly followed by troops of lions and tigers,
as if nature in creating ihe former, had decreed a
certain fubiiilance to ihe latter. It is fcarcely to be
doubted, from what was declared to me by tlre-abovr
men, that there are lions innumerable HI the mteriei'
parts of Africa : the account of the Hollanders tal-
lies with hiiKry in this refptct. Polybius lays, thai
being in Africa with Scipio, he faw feveral lions pla-
ced on croiTes, to deter others from approaching the
villages. Pompey, according to Pliny, did at one
time turn fix '.hundred lions into the amphitheatre,
among which there were thvee hundred and fifteen
males. There feems to be a phyfical caufe in the
natural fyftem for Africa's being the practical reH-
dence of the brute creation. It is to be prefu.
that want of water hits pre '/en tea the increase of die
human fpecies,and their forming themfeives into great
nations here, as they have clone in Afia. Vali in ex-
tent as this coaft is, the rivtrs are but fe\v, and theic
fmall. The animals of Africa can feed a long tink-
without water. I have obierveci on board cf Ihips,
that the African iheep drink but once a ^vcj ., altho'
their provender is clned herbs.

THE Dutch have cftab4Uhments for 200

^

vilong the coaft, and for 150 upon the ilfaits of Ivlo-
fambique j they have fcarce any at above 50 leagues
within land. It is pretended that this colony or.
under arms four or live thoufand white men, but ic

would

222 YrOYAGK to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

would be difficult to get them together. Their num-
bers would be very loon increaled, if the free txercife
of religion were permitted. Holland perhaps, upon
its own account, fears the aggrandizing of this colo-
ny, preferable in every refped to the mother country.
The air is pure and temperate ; all manner of provi-
fions abound -, a quintal of corn cofts there no more
than one hundred fous, ten pounds of mutton and
twelve fous. A legre of wine, containing two hogf-
heads and a half, for one hundred and fifty livres *.
They exact conliderable duties upon thdc articles
when fold to Grangers •, but an inhabitant buys at u,
much cheaper rate.

OTHER articles of the trade of this country, are
the (kins of fheep, oxen, lea-calves, and tigers >
aloes, fait provifions, butter, dry fruits, and all forts
of eatables £. They have tried in vain to grow cof-
fee and fugar, the vegetables of Afia will not thrive
here. The chefnut-trce grows very faft, but being
very foft, is not fit for buildings. Firs do not thrive,

* About Six Pounds Ten Shil'ings flerling.

J In 1771, the Dutch Eaft-Jndia (hips homeward bourd, bel g
at the Cape and not freigted, took on board in bulk, fome corn,
(the produce of the country) and brought it to Holland. The
wheat is a beautiful berry, thin fitinned, white, quite dry, and
clean, and in weight exceeds the beft Englifh or Zealand, as 140

to ^2. The rye is fuperior to any of Northern growth. --

My information of its proportional weight, is Hot fo accurate, cs
that of the wheat ; but it was fold at ten or twelve per cent, above

the bed rye of Piuflia.. The barley is thin, and much inferior

to our Norfolk, 'Tis more like the Zealand barley — — The

Dutch incline to cultivate this new branch of trade, which pro-
miles much ber,°fit. — They fell it in («?a!l lots at public auction.
In 1774* the wheat fold at two hundred and thiity guilders, which.
is about fixty-four (hillings a quarter, Winchelcer • — The
heat of the climate at the Cape fo rftVc'tually dries the grain, that
it may be brought in bulk, though tl»e voyage is fo long a one,
without apprehenfion of danger froai its effcrvcfcing. 2".

The

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 223

The pine rifes to a moderate height. This country
might from its fituation, have been the mart for the
commerce of Afia -, but the north of Europe mono-
polizes all maritime affairs. The harbour is by no
means fafe, and the entrance of it always dangerous.
I have feen at this fcafon, which is the fineft of the
year, many veffels forced to hoift fail and go to fea.
After all, the people mould be thankful to Provi-
dence, for having given them every requifite, to fup-
ply the real wants of Europeans, without having ad-
ded thofe things that ferve only to gratify their
pafTions.

Cape of Good-Hope, Feb. i o, 1771,

LET-

2-24 VOYAGE to tke ISLE OF FRANCE.

LETTER XXIII.

SLAVES, HOTTENTOTS, HOLLANDERS.

r | "* I IE plenty of- this country difufscs itfclf even
JL amongthe flaves. They have bread and greener
at difcretion. A Iheep is allowed weekly for two ne-
groes. They do not work on Sundays. They lay
upon beds with matrafies and coverlids. Both men
and women are clad with warm clothes. I fpeak on
this fubject from experience, having been told by
feveral blacks that their French matters had fold
them to the Dutch by way of punifning them, but,
that in fact, they had thereby done them a fervice.
A flave cods as much a^ain here as in the I lie of

^?

France. Man is therefore doubly valuable in this
place. The fltuation of thefe negroes would be pre-
ferable to that of the peafants of Europe, if there
v/ere any compenfation for the lofs of liberty. t

THE good treatment they meet with, has a gre.it
influence upon their behaviour -, their zeal, activity,
and fidelity, are amazingly great. Yet thele are the
very fame iilanders of Madagafcar, who are fo inatten-
tive to their matter when in our colonies.

THE Dutch bring flaves from Batavia alfo. They
are Malays a nation of Afia, very populous •, but lit-
tle known in Europe. Their language and cuftoms
are pecui'ar to themfeives. They are more ugly

than

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 225

than negroes, and refemble them in feature. Their
ftature is lower, their colour d*ur noin cendre^ * their
hair long, but thin. Thefe Malays are fubject to
the mod violent pafllons.

THE Hottentots are the natural inhabitants of the
place, they are free — They are not robbers — they do
not fell their children, nor do they attempt to enllave
each other. Among them adultery is punifhed with
death — the culprit is ftoned. Some of them let them-
felves as houfhold fervants for a piallre a year, and
ferve the inhabitants with ib much affection as to ha-
zard their lives for them. They are conftantly armed
with & demi-lance or dart.

THE government at the Cape feem to make a point
of protecting the Hottentots. When they lodge a
complaint againfl an European, they are favourably
heard : it being prefumed that the party known to
have the fewett defires and feweft wants is the moft
likely to be in the right.

I have feen many of them come into the town,
driving waggons drawn by eight pairs of oxen. They
have whips of a great length which they ufe with both
hands. The driver, from his feat, flogs with equal
acldreis the fore or wheel horfes.

THE Hottentots are a paftoral people, and are all
upon a footing j but in each village, they chufe from.

* I do not know how to tranflate thefe words, unlefs by thofe
made ufe of by a younjj Midshipman, who was caft away with
Captain Barton in the Litchficld during the laft war. In defcribing
the complexion of the Emperor of Morocco ; the young Jailor
obferves, that they do his Imperial Majefty's complexion manifell
injulHce, who fay that he is a negroe, tor that he is only of a dark
chefnut complexion, 7*.

Q^ among

22f5 VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE.

among themfelves, two men to whom they give th«i
title of Captain or Corporal, thefe manage their com-
mercial bufmefs with the company. They iell their
flocks very cheap, — fo cheap even, as three or four
fheep for a roll of tobacco. Although they have
fuch numbers of cattle j they generally wait till they
die by accident or old age before they eat them.

THOSE whom I faw had a fheep-fkin over their
{boulders^ with a cap and belt of the fame fluff. They
Ihewed me how they lay to reft, which was naked
at their length upon the ground,- and their cloak
Jerving to cover them.

THEY are not fo black as the negroes — like them

c_?

hovevef they have a flat nofe, wide mouth and thick
lips. Their hair is fhorter and more curly, like
wool*. I have obferved a fomething very particular
in their fpeech, — every word is preceded by a clack
of the tongue, the reafon without doubt of their
being called the Choccoquas •, which name they
have in fome old maps by Monfieur de L'Ifle.
One would really think they continually repeated
choccoq.

As to the apron of the Hottentot women, 'tis a
ftory which every body affirmed to "be falfe; 'tis
drawn from Kolben's voyage, which is full of fuch
ridiculous fables.

* Many different account are given pf the flature of the Hot-
tentots—Our author isfilent on this fubjcft — The A de la CaiHe
fays he meafured one, u ho was 6' feet 7 inches | high, and corpu-
lent in proportion— this man came into the town with many others,
and dees not appear to have been felefted for his extraordinary
ftature — we nuy therefore fuppofe thefe people to be in general
larger than Europeans. Had he been remarkable for hi fuse, .the
Abbe would doubtlefs have fpoken of him accordingly, y.— -
rench foot if to that of England at 1000 to 1068.

Pliny's

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 227

Pliny's remark is more to be depended on, that
animals are lefs fagacious, in proportion as their blood
is thicker. The ftrongeit animals by his account
have the thickeft blood, and the more cunning the
thinneft. I have myfelf remarked that on bleeding
a Negroe, his blood curdled very quickly. To this
cauie I mould readily attribute the fuperiority of
white people over the blacks.

BESIDES their flaves, and the Hottentots, the
Dutch retain indented fervants. They are Europe-
ans, to whom the Company advance money, and
whom the inhabitants take home with them, having
firft paid the government their diiburfements.

They are chiefly employd to fuperintend houfhold
matters. They are diligent enough at rirft, but good
living makes them idle*

The people at the Cape do not game, nor do they
vifit much, The women look after their fervants
and houfes, the furniture of which is always in the
niceft order. The hufband manages the bufmefs
abroad. In the evening the family affembles, they
walk, and take the air as foon as the breeze is at an
end. The fame bufmefs and the fame pleafures are
repeated each day.

THE utmoft harmony prevails among relations.
My hoftefs's brother was a Peafant of the Cape who
came feventy leagues from hence. This man hardly
ever fpoke, and was continually fitting and fmoaking
his pipe. He had a little boy with him of ten years
old who conftantly flood by him. The father put
his hand to his cheek and carefled him without open-
ing his lips •, the child, as filent as the father preffed
his great hands in his own, looking up to him with

Q^ 2 eyes

228 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

eyes exprefiive of the moil filial tendernefs. This
little boy wore the country habit^ — he had a coufin in
the houfe of his own age who was very genteely dref-
fed ; thefe children uied to walk out together with
the greateft intimacy. The little citizen did not
look with contempt upon the Peafant, — he was his
coufin ;

Madamoifdle Berg, though but fixteen years old,
manages without afliflancs a very refpectabie family;
She receives ftrangers, — attends to the fervants, — and
maintains the moft perfect order in the houfe, and
with a countenance always at cafe. Her youth, —
her beauty — her accomplishments, and character gain
her the efteem of every body : yet I riever obferved
her pay any regard to the compliments addreffed to her.
I 'told her one day, me had a great many friends ;
"I have one great one,'* faid me5 — that is my father.

It was this magiftrates delight when he came home
from bufmefs to feat himfelf amono; his children.

^j

They jumped round his neck, — the little ones em-
oraced his knees ; they appealed to him in their little
difputes — while the eideil daughter, excufing fome
— approving others — and fmiling upon all, redou-
bled the joy of the truly parental heart of her father.
Methought I faw the Antiope of Idomeneus;

THIS people, content with domeftic happinefs,
the fure coniequence of a virtuous life, do not yet
feek after it, in romances, or upon the theatre. There
are no public exhibitions at the Cape, nor are they
wifhed for. In his own houfe each man views the
molt piealing — the moft affecting of all fpeetacles,
fervants, happy : —children, well brought up : — and
wives, faithful and affectionate. Thefe are the de-
lights which the tales of fiction cannot afford. They

are

VOYAGE to tie ISLE of FRANCE. 229

are a penfive fet of people, who chufe rather to feel
— than to converfe, or to argue. Perhaps the want
of iubject, is the caufe of their taciturnity. But of
what confequence is the mind's being vacant, fo the
heart be full, and actuated by the tender emotions of
nature, unexcited by artifice, or unconilrained by
unreafonable decorum and unnatural referve.

As foon as the girls of the Cape are in love, they
avow it ingenuoufly. They call it a natural fentiment,
a gentle paiTion, upon which depends the felicity of
their lives, and compenfates the pains and danger of
their becoming mothers •, but they themfelves — will
theinfelves make choice of the man to whom they
make their vows of conitancy,

THEY make no myftery of their paffion •, — as they
feel it — fo they exprefs it. Are you beloved? You
are accepted, entertained, and publickly diftinguimed.
I was a witneis to a parting fcene between MademoU
{bile Nedling and her lover. In tears, and with
fighs me prepared the prefents which were to be the
pledges of her affection — in which employment me
neither fought for witnefTes, not did me mun them.

THIS mutual inclination is generally productive of
a happy marriage. The young men are equally frank
in their proceedings. They return from Europe to
fulfil their engagements •, and bring with them the
merit of the dangers through which they have palled,
and of a love unaltered by an abfence from its object.
Efteem and affection are united, and maintain or life
that defire of pleafmg which elfewhere mews itfelf
more towards other objects, than towards that to
which it is properly due.

Q.3 As

230 VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE.

As happily as they live here, blefied with fimplici-
ty of manners, and a country fo rich and plentiful — •
yet, every thing which conies from Holland is re-
ceived among them with tranfport. Their houfes are-
papered with views of Amilerdam, of its public
places, and environs. They look upon Holland as
their country, and even ilrangers in their fervice fpeak
of it in that light only. I alked a Swede in the com-
pany's fervice, how long the fleet would be on its
rerurn to Holland — "we fhall be atleait three months,
replied he, before we get home.''

THEY have a handfome church, wherein divine
fervice is performed with great decency. I don't know
whether the Dutch think religion an addition to their,
happinefs, but there are men here .whofe anceftors have
facnftced every thing that they held moft de.ar to. the
exercife of it. I fpeak of the French Refugees, , At
fome leagues, diftahce from the Cape they have .a let-,
tlement, which is called La Petite Rochelle. They
are quite in raptures at the fight of a Frenchman, they
bringhim horne to their houfes, and prefent him to their,
wives and children, as a man, happy, in having feen
the country of their forefathers, and. in a profpect of
returning, to it again. France is continually the fub-
jedt of difcourie, they admire it, they praife it ; yet
do they complain of it, as of a mother whofe feveri-
ty towards them had been too extreme. Thus do
they break in upon their enjoyment of the country
they now live in — by lamenting their exile from that
which they have, never .feen.

THE Miigiftrates of the Cape efpecially the Gover-
nor are treated with the utmpil deference. His
houfe is dil>inguimed only from others, by the fenti-
nel at the door, and by the cuftom of founding a
trumpet when he fits down to dinner.. This piece of

rtfpect

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 231

refpect is annexed to his place. No other pomp attends
his peribn. He goes out without retinue, and is eafy
of accefs. His houfe itantis by the fide of a canal
lhaded with chefnut trees planted before his door. In
it, are the pictures of Ruyter, Van Trump, and fome
other illuftrious perfons of Holland. It is fmall and
plain, and fuited to the very few people who
have affairs to folicit with him ; but the governor
himfelf is fo refpedted and beloved, that the inhabi-
tants do not even pals his door without mewing fome
mark or other of their refpec"t.

HE gives no public entertainments, but his purf<?
is always open for the fervice of worthy and indigent
people. They need pay no court to him. If they
leek for juilice, they obtain it of the council ; — if
fuccour, this he takes upon himfelf, as a duty, —
injuftice only can be folicited, but it conftantly meets;
with the merited fucceis.

HE has much time upon his hands, which he em-
ploys for the prefervation of peace and concord,
being perfuaded of their tendency to the well being
of all Ibci-jties. He is not of opinion that the power
of the chief magiftrate depends upon difcord, and
diflenfion among individuals. I have heard him fay
that the bell policy was to deal juftly and honeftly
with every man. He frequently invites ftrangers to
his table. Although more than eighty years old his
converfation is lively ; he is acquainted with moft of
our works of genius, and is fond of them. Of all
the Frenchmen he has feen, he chiefly regrets the
Abbe de la Caille, for whom he built an Oblcrvatory
here. He eileemed him for his learning, his modefty,
his difmtereftednefs, and focial qualities. I know no-,
thing more of this learned man than by his works j

but

•
232 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

but in mentioning the refpect paid by ftrangers to his
memory, I feel a fatisfa&ion at rimming my account
of this eftimable body of people with their eulo^ium
of one of my countrymen*.

LETTER

CONTINUATION of my JOURNAL
to the CAPE.

I WAS invited by Monfieur Serrurier, firft minifter
of the church to go1 to fee the library. The
building is handfome and fit for the purpofe. I could
not help remarking a number of books of theology,
which have never yet occafioned any controversies,
and indeed the .Dutch never look in them. At the
end of the' company's garden, there is a menagerie
containing a great number of birds. The pelicans
that I faw upon the beach on my arrival had been
boarders in this place; but they were driven away
becaufe they eat the young ducks. In the day time
they went into the road to feek for fifh, and at night
returned to rooft on more. \-

* The late Dr. Goldfmith frequently fpoke of this chapter,
as a mafter-piece of good Ien.fe, and well dire&ed .attention and
fccfibility, T'

ON

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

ON the icth of February a fignal was made that a
French fhip appeared: 'twas the Alliance^ that had
been forced from Bourbon by the hurricane/' She
had loft her mizen maft in the itorm. She could give
us no tidings of the Indienne. Having taken in pro-
vifions, me continued her voyage to America with-
out repairing the lofs of her maft. The Dutch have
a number of them in ftore, which they keep buried
in the fand : but they fell them very dear. A new
mizen maft for the Normande colt 1000 crowns.

ON the nth the Digue^ a pink of the King's that
left the I fle of France a month before, came into the
Cape to get provifions. t knew the captain, Mon-
fieur le Fe'r. He told me he mould anchor here for
a few days only, and then fleer for the weftward,
Defpairingto fee tkzlndenne and my effects any more,
and thinking this opportunity a favourable one, I
refolved to embrace it.

I acquainted Monfieur Berg, and Monfieur Tol-
bac, with my determination ; botlvof them again of-
fered me their purfes. •' Supping one evening at the
governor's and talking of -Conftance wine, Monfieur
de Tolbac afked me if I would not carry fome of it
with me to Europe. I very naturally anfwered that
the diforder in my finances by the accident that had
happened, prevented my making a little purchafe of
rt, which I meant to have done, as a Prefent for
a lady to whom I had a particular attachmen. He told
me he would relieve me from this embarraflment by
giving me if I thought proper an alverame of red or
of white wine, or of both. I anfwered him that one
would fuffice, and that I would prefent it in his
name to the perfon for whom I intended it. "A70,
laid he^ 'tis to you ] give ;'/, as a remembrance of me,
and all the acknowledgement I afk, is, that you will

write

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

ivrite to me when you get to Fran •<?.'* He fcnt me the.
wine next morning. Monfieur Berg to whom I had,
frequently mentioned the civilities I had received
from Monfieur and Mademoifelie Cremon. told me,
he would take upon himfelf the making my acknow-
ledgements to them, and that he would fend them as
from me two dozen of Confbance wine.

'IN actuation, where I was in abfolute want of every
thing, I was not a little happy at meeting among
ftrangers, with men of fo obliging and benevolent a
difppfition.

I agreed with the captain of the Digue, to pay him
600 livres for my paffage to France. He was to fail
in a few days. I was very cautious of ufirj'4 Mon-
fieur de Berg's credit. I made up one fingle fuit of
clothes only and a little linen. This was the whole
equipage of an officer returning from the Eaft-Indies.
I had not only loft all my efteds, but found myfelf
140 livres in debt.

I had but juft fettled my affairs here, when the
African came to an anchor 3t the Cape ; me came to
take in provifions \ me left the Me of France about
the middle of January, and broi'ght the following
account of the lnd>enne.

THIS unfortunate veflel had loft all her mafts in
the ftorm ; and after having kept the lea for more than
a month returned at length to the I fie of France in fo
bad a condition, that me had been fince difarmed.
The feas fhe fhipp'd had fpoilt part of her cargo, and
had filled the powder room with water, infomuch that
the trunks of the paffengers were afloat. Monfieur
Moncherat, .a good man I knew there, had looked

over

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

over my luggage, and wrote me word, that but little
damage had been done to any thing, except to the
things in my cabbin.

THEY told us of an odd accident that happened on
board the Indienni'. Among the tranfports who were
fent to the Ille of France, there was one of a goo4
family, named ***. He had affaflinated his brother-
in-law in France. On the voyage he quarrelled with
the fupercargo, and when they landed, he ftabbed
him without ceremony, and broke the blade of his
fword in his body. He fled to the woods, but was
found, and committed to prifon. He was tried and
condemned, but while under fentence of death, there
was a hole made in the wall of his prifon, through,
which he efcaped.
',

THIS event happened two months before my
departure.

DURING the tempeft the Indienne was expofed to,
the mizen mail was carried away, and fell into the fea.
While they were haftily cutting away the rigging,
they faw in the middle of the waves, a failor hanging
by the round of the floationg mail. He cried out,
fave me, fave me, I am ***. It was really this un-
happy wretch. At the return of the Indienne to the
Ifle of France, they fuffered him once more to efcape.
When Monfieur de Tolbac heard this anecdote, he
only faid, Hi tbafs lorn to be banged will never be
drowned. .

THEY had heard nothing of the Alliance ', which
probably was loft.

IT was very fortunate for me, to receive my effects
on the eve of my departure, and to be no longer on

236 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

board the Indienne, which was likely to be detained1
ibme time at the I fie of France.

THE "Digue did not fail till the fecond of March. I
paid all my expences with bills of exchange upon the
Treafurer for the Colonies, at fix months, by which
I loft twenty-two per cent, difcount..

I TOOK leave of the Governor, and of Monfieur
Berg, who gave me feveral natural curiofitics. I
had prefented him with fome of mine. Mademoilelle,
Berg, gave me three perroquets from Mada afcar ;
they had grey heads, arid were of the fize of fparrows.
My landlady furnimed me with fruits, and Weeping,
wilhed me5 as did her family, a good voyage.

IT was with concern that I left thefe good peo-.
pie, and their gardens of European fruit-trees, which,
though in the month of march, were loaded with
fruit. I rejoiced in tl\e thoughts, however, of rind-
ing them in blorTom in Europe, and of enjoying in
one year two fummers arid no winter : but what far-
exceeded the delights of a beautiful country and mild
feafon, I was about to revifit my native country, an4
the friends I left in it.

XrOYAGE to tbe ISLE OF FRANCE.

LETTER XXV.

DEPARTURE FROM THE CAPE,

DESCRIPTION of the ISLAND of ASCENSION.

THE 2d of March at two in the afternoon, we
fet fail in company with fix of the fleet from
Batavia. The other fix went fifteen days before.
We went out by the fecond opening of the bay, leav-
ing Roben's Ifland on the left. We foon out-
failed the Dutch {hips. They kept company to the
latitude of the Azores^ where two Ihips of war waited,
to convoy them to Holland.

MARINERS reckon the Cape to be a third part of
the way from the Ifle of France to Europe : ano-
ther third they call, to the line : and the laft, from
thence home.

EIGHT days after our departure, while we were fit-
ting upon deck after dinner, in the moft perfect fe-
curity, we faw a great flame iiTue from the kitchen-
chimney, which rofe feveral yards above deck.
Every body ran forward. It was no more than a
panic : an awkward cook had thrown fome fat upon
the hearth. It/was mentioned by fome of the offi-
cers upon this iubjeft, that a few years ago, in a

fhip

138 VOYAGE to tie IsLE OF FRANCE,

fhip called the , the fire had catched the maft,

and that all the rigging forward being on fire, the
officers and crew were in diffraction, and came in a
tumult to tell the Captdn, who coming out of the
cabbin, faid very coolly, " My good friends, this is
" nothing, only bear away, and put before the
" wind."

IN fact, the flames driven by the wind; ceafed
when all the fails were burnt. The man thus en-
dowed with fang-froid, was Monfieur de Surville, an
officer of great merit in the Company's fervice!

WE had the wind S. W. conftantly, and a fine
fea, till we got to the Ifland of Aicenfion: The
2Oth ot March we were near its latitude, ( 8 deg. S.)
but we had taken it too much Eafhvard. We
were obliged to run down the longitude, our inteh-

O tj f

tion being to anchor there; and catch fome turtle.

THE 22d in the morning we had fight of it. —
This ifland is feen ten leagues off, although fcarcc

±J * cJ

a league and half over. One can diilinguifh a
pointed hill, called the Green-Mountain. The reft
of the ifland is formed of fmall black and red hills,
and the pieces of rocks near the iea were quite white
with the dung of birds.

THE nearer you approach, the more horrid the
landfcape appears. We coafted along more, in or-
der to anchor in the North-weft. At the foot of
thefe black hills, we perceived an appearance like
the ruins of an immenle city. They were funken*
rocks, which have proceeded from an ancient vol-
cano •, they are fcattered all over the plain, and as
far as the fea, in ftrange fhapes. The fhore here-
abouts is compofed of them. Some are formed like

pyramids,

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 239

pyramids, others like grottos j half finifhed arches, the
waves break againft which •, one while they flow o-
Ver them, and in running down again, cover them
with a kind of table-cloth of foam •, fometimes find-
ing flat pieces railed high, and full of holes, they
beat agairtft them underneath, and throw up Jong
jets dean of various forms.

THESE black and white fnores were almoft cover-
ed with fea-fowl. A number of frigate-birds ho-
vered about: our rigging, where they were taken
by the feamen. We anchored in the evening at the
entrance of the Great-Bay, I went into the boat
with the men who were to catch turtle. The land-
ing-place is at the foot of a mafs of rocks, which is
feen from the anchorage at the extremity of the bay
on the right-fide. We got out upon a large fand,
which is white, mixed with grains of red, green, and
other colours, like that kind of anifeed called mig) c-
vette. Some paces from hence we found a little grot-
to, and in it a bottle, in which the mips who touch
there put letters. They break the bottle, and hav-
ing read the letters, put them into another,

WE went forward about fifty paces, taking to the
left, behind the rock, to a little plain, where the
ground broke to pieces under our feet, as if it had
been a covering of inow. J tailed fome of it ; it was
fait, which I thought very ftrange, there being no
appearance of the lea's coming fo far.

THEY brought up wood, the kettle, and the fail
of the boat, upon which our men lay down in expec-
tation of night. 'Tis about eight in the evening on-
ly that the turtles come on more. The people were
laying here at their eaie, when one of them jumpino-
up i called out in a great fright, a dtad wan, here's

a dead

$40 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.'

a dead man. — The matter was, by a little crofs,
placed on a fmall hill of fand, we perceived that Ibme -
perfon had been buried there. The man had lain
down upon this place without thinking \ but not one
of them would ftay here a moment after this diico-
very ; and we were obliged to comply with their whim,
and remove about a hundred yards farther.

THE moon rifmg, began to difTufe a light over this
folitude, which, unlike agreeable views, that are
rendered more linking by the light of the moon, ap-
peared but the more horrible, and difmal. We were
at the foot of the black-hill, at the top of which we
could fee a large crofs, put up, as we fuppoied by
fome failors who had been there. Before us, the
plain was covered with rocks, from which rofe an in-
finite number of points about the height of a man.

THE moon caufed a fparkling on the top of thefe
points which were whitened by the dung of the birds
that had refted there. Thefe white heads upon black
bodies, the one of which were upright, the other
^Doping, appeared like ghofls wandering over the
tombs. The mod profound filence -reigned in this
difmal region •, a filence, now and then only interrupted
and rendered more horrid, by the roaring of the lea
on the beach, or the cry of a itray frigate-bird
frighted at the fight of men.

WE were at the edge of the bay waiting for tur-
tles. We lay upon our bellies as ftiil as poflible,
this animal flying at the kail noiie. At lait we faw
three come out of the water ; they appeared like black
clouds, creeping along the fand. We ran to the
firft, but our impatience occafioned our iofmg it,
She went down the cliff again, and fwam away.
The fecond was advanced farther, and could not

efcape

.VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 241

jiot efcape, but was thrown upon its back. In the
courfe of the night, and in the fame valley, we
turned above fifty, fome of which weighed above
5 cwt.

THE fhore was dug in holes, where they had
lain fo many even as three hundred eggs, and
had covered them with land, in which they were to
be hatched by the fun.

THE failors killed a turtle and made foup of it •
after which, I laid me down in the grotto^ -where the
letters are depofited, that I might enjoy the fhelter of
the rock, the diftant noife of the fea^ and the foftnefs
of the fand, I ordered a failor to fetch me my wrap-
ping-gown ; but he dared not go by himfelf pail the
place, where the man had been buried; No beings,
certainly, can be at once fo intrepid, and fo dallard-
ly fupcrftitious as feamen are;

I flept very comfortably. Oh awaking, I found
a fcorpion and fome crabs at the entrance of my
cave, I faw no other herbs here, than a fpecies
of milk-thiftle, or celandine. Its juice was rnilky^
and very bitter. The herbage, and the animals
were worthy of the country they were -in.

I WEMT Up the fide of one of the hills, the earth
of which reibunded under my feet. It was a per-
fecc cinder, of a reddifh colour, and fait; From
hence, perhaps, proceeds the little covering of fak
upon the more, where we fpent the night. A
booby came and pitched on the ground a little
way from me, I prefented the end of- my cane
to him, and he took it in his bill, without attempt-
ing to fly away.

R THESIS

242 VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE.

THESE birds will fuffcr a man to take them up in
his hand, as will every other fpecies unufed to the
fociety of mankind •, a proof, this, that there is a
fort of good-will and confidence, natural to all ani-
mals towards thofe creatures, which they do not think
mifchievous *. Birds have no fear of oxen.

OUR failors killed a number of frigate-birds, for the
iake of a piece of fat that is round their necks. They
think it fpecific in the gout, becaufe this bird is fo
fwift : but nature, which has annexed this evil to our
intemperance, has not placed the remedy for it in our
cruelty.

ABOUT ten in the morning, the fhallop came to
fetch the turtles on board. As the furf ran high,
Hie anchored at a diftance, and drew them on board
with a rope.

THIS bufmefs employed us all day. In the even-
ing, the turtles that were not worth taking, were
thrown into the fea again. When they have been
long on their backs, their eyes grow red as a cherry 4
and ftand out of their head. There were many on
the fhore that had been left by other Ihips, to die in
this fituation, — a negligence that was unpardonable.

* Poffibly a good argument might be" deduced from this cir-
cumflance, in refutation of the opinion of Hobbes, that if in a
fuppoftd ftate o'f nature, an human being, fhould accidentally
meet for th? firft time, another of the fpecies, they would mutu-
ally run away. TV

LET-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 243

LETTER XXVI.

> '

CONJECTURES upon the Antiquity of the

ISLE of ASCENSION, the ISLE of FRANCE, the CAPE

ofGooD-HopE, land of EUROPE.

w

HILE our failors were getting the turtles en
board, I fat me down in a chafm or cavern of
the rocks, with which the country is covered : a
variety of reflections fuggefted themfelves to my ima-
gination at the fight of fo horrible a diforder.

IF thefe, thought I, were the ruins of a great city,
what memoirs mould we have had of thofe, by whom
it was built, and by whom it was deftroyed ? In
Europe there is not a fingle column.

WHEREFORE do we, fo well informed in other mat-
ters, remain in total ignorance of whence we came, and
where we are? All the learned are agreed as to the origin
and the duration of Babylon, now dciblate and unin-
habited •, but by no means concur in opinion con-
cerning the nature and antiquity of the globe, the
country of all mankind. Some maintain it to have
been produced by fire, and others, by water ; thefe,
by the laws of motion ; and others by thofe of chryf-
tallization. The people of the weftern world believe
it to be fix thoufand years old only, — while thofe of
the Eaft fay that it is from all eternity.

R 2 IT

244 VOYAGE to tie ISLE of FRANCE.

IT is probable that one fyftem only would be a-
dopted, if all the world were like this illand. Thefe
pumice-ftones, thefe hillocks of cinders, and thefe
broken rocks, which have bubbled up a kind of
metallic drofs, evidently prove it to have been the
work of a volcano •, — but how many years have e-
lapfed fmce the eruption to which it owes its origin ?

METHINKS, if this had happened a very long time
ago, theie hills of afhes would have loft their pyra-
rhidical form, and have been rendered flat by the
-heavy rains, and the heat of the fun. The angles
and out-lines of the rocks would not befo lharp and
pointed, — it being one property of the atmofphere to
deitroy the projecting parts of every Body -, ftatues of
marble carved by the artifts of ancient Greece, by
being expofed to the air for aferiesofyears, no longer
retain their original form ; but are again reduced to
mere mapelefs blocks.

MIGHT not then a judgment be formed of the an-
tiquity of a Body by the degree of decay it has fuf-
fered, in like manner as the antiquity of a medal is
determined by its ruft ? Is not an old rock as much a
medal of earth, engraved by time ?

MOREOVER, were this ifland very ancient indeed,
theie blocks of ftone upon the furface of the ground,
would have e'er now been buried in it, from their
own exceffive weight •, this effect of a heavy body,
though ilow, is yet fure. The piles of fliot, and the
cannon, ranged upon the fbor of an arienal, in the
courfe of a lew years bury themfclves therein. The
gre.'iter part of the monuments of Greece and Italy,
have funk deeper than their iurbaies — and fome have
entirely diiappearecl.

IF

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 245

IF then I could know in bow long a time a Bo y of
a known form and weight, would be in burying itie'f in
a Joil of a ce. t'tin knoivn rejiftance, I mould have an
hypothesis, whereby I might difcover what I am in
fearch of. The calculation would be eafy, were the
data once known : in the mean time there is great rea-
fon to believe this ifland but of a modern date,

I AM partly of the fame opinion, with relpefb to
the antiquity of the Ifle of France ; but as its piqued
mountains are already tabulated on the tops, its rocks
a third or fourth part only funk in the earth, — and
their angles but a little blunted, I am rather induced

O 7

to believe it tome ages more ancient than the oiher.

THE Cape of Good-Hope appears to be of far
greater antiquity. The rocks broken from the tops
of the mountains are entirely buried in the earth,where
they are found by digging. The foot of each moun-
tain has a large and h;gh Talus, formed of the bro-
ken pieces of the upper parts. Thefe have been fe-
parated from their original fituation by the continued
aftion of the atmofphere upon them -, in confirmation
of this conjecture, they are in far the greateft quan-
tity in thole parts wh.rc the winds are ufed to blow.
J particularly noticed this at the table-mountain, the
part of which, oppofite to the fouth-eaft wind, has a
much more exteniivc Talus, than that part next
die town,

I HAVE alfo remarked upon the table-mountain,
fome ftones Handing by themfelves, the lize of a tun
or large cafk, the angles of which, are blunted. The
pieces broken off from them have now no longer the
fliarp edges they feem formerly to have had ; and are
of no harder confidence than a white and fmoothiy
polifhed gravel, like almonds. - Thefe ftones are

R 3 very

246 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

very hard, and in colour and grain, like plates of
China, that have been much ufed.

THE decay of thefe bodies are evidences of their
great antiquity. In many places the rock is quite bare,
nor is the bed of vegetable earth above two inches
deep any where. It cannot then have been many
ages fmce vegetables firft grew there, although they
are now common.

WE cannot, however, form any judgment from
herice, becaufe the fummit of the mountain being
neither of fand nor of porous itone, but of a fort
of flint, white, polimed, and very hard ; the feeds
of plants .brought hither by the winds, may have re-
mained a long time before they could be able to
germinate.

THE vegetative bed is much deeper on the plains,
but from hence neither, can we decide as to the
antiquity of the foil,— for where this bed isofacon-
fiderable depth, it may have been increafed by the
floods from the mountains after hard rains, or have
been driven or warned farther off, in parts where it
is thin.

IF there were in Europe an high mountain (land-
ing by itfclf, with a flat iummit as that of the Table^
ana not covered as that is, with a matter unfit for
vegetation, a comparifon might be made between the
thicknefs of its vegetative bed, and that of any newly
formed land alike infulated, for example, with the
cruft of earth which covers fome of thole iflands form-
ed in the courfe of the laft century at the mouth of
the Loire.

'Til!

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 247

'Till the contrary is proved by experiment, I
then prefume that Europe is more ancient than
the Cape of Good-Hope, — becaufe the fummits of
the mountains are not fo fteep, — their fides incline
more gradually, and the angular pieces of thofe rocks
yet uncovered with earth, are blunted and round.

I DO not hereby mean fuch rocks as appear on
the iides of mountains, which the fea, torrents, or
the falling of rivers have rendered fteep, nor the
(tones which the rain has left bare, by warning
away the earth which covered them -, and much
lefs, thofe flints in the fields, which the plough
covers one year and uncovers the next : but
thofe only, which by their weight and iituation,
are fubjecl to the laws of gravity. I faw none of
this laft fort in the plains of Ruffia and Poland.
Finland is paved with rocks, but of a totally different
fliape •, 'tis a feries of fmall hills and vallies of folid
rock, and may be called a petrified earth. Never-
thelefs as fir-trees grow on the tops of thofe hills, it
mould feem that they have been a long time in the

air, which has decompofed them. It appears even

that in a climate lefs cold than the one I fpeak of,
this diflblution would be very confiderably accelera^
ted •, but that the fnow covering the furface for fix
months in the year, and the ground being hardened
by the froft, the effect of their weight is retarded.

THE kind of rocks moil proper for thefe experi-
ments, is fuch as are found in the neigbourhood of
Fontainbleau. It is a free-ftone, in huge mafles de-
tached from each other, the edges of all which the
hand of time has rounded off. Some of them are
half, — fome two thirds buried in the earth, and
Others lay on the furface in heaps, as if brought thi-

R 4 ther

VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE,

thcr for the purpofe of building. — Thefe laft, are pro-
bably the fummits of mountains, which have not yet
entirely difappeared. — Each century, has perhaps,
feea them farther and deeper immerfed, and two
thoufand years ago, it is not unlikely, but that they
were as lofty mountains as many at this day. The
force with which the elements ad, and the intrinfic
gravity tends to preferve the globular form of the
earth. la time, the mountains of Europe will be far
Ms fteep 'than they now are, — in time, the fea will
have diffolved the rocks by which its bounds are li-
mited, and upon which it is continually breaking,
in. like manner as it has already deftroyed thofe once
famous ones of Scylla and Charibdis.

BEWILDERED in thefe reflections, — I took from my
pocket a book of ancient hiilory, and opened a place
wherein, fpeaking of fome families ot Europe, the
author fays, fo gteat is their an'iqtnty, that thei- o~ igin
jeenis lofi in the right of time, as if their anceilors had
been born before the fun. In another place, he
fpeaks of the people of the North, as the fabricators
of human nature, Officina G mt turn -, " as a torrent of
" barbarians, which the North could no longer
" contain."

I HAVE lived fome time in the North, and have
travelled through more than eight hundred leagues of
it,' but I do not recollect to have feen there one fingle
monument of antiquity. Yet, we fee durable traces
of all populous nations every where elfe, and from
the lowly fteeple in a country village, to the pyra-
mids of Egypt, every land where mankind have in-
habited, bears teftimony to their induftry. The
plains of Greece and of Italy are covered with antique
Sj .why .are they not likewiie feen in Ruflia and

Poland

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 249

Poland ? — becaufe mankind can only increafe accord-
ing to the growth cf the fruits of the earth where
they inhabit, — and beeaufe the North of Europe lay
barren and uncultivated, while the South was covered
with harvefts of corn, vineyards, and olive trees.
The people of the South, in their abundance, raifed
altars to every Good. — Ceres, Pomona, Bacchus,
Flora, Pales, the Zephyrs, the Nymphs, were Plea-
fures, therefore they were Deities. — The Virgins of-
fered pigeons to the God of Love, and garlands to
the Graces, praying to Lucina to blefs them with
good hufbands, who mould be faithful and affccti-
pnute. Religion was congenial with nature, and, as
acknowledgement was in every heart, the earth under
this aufpicious iky, was covered with altars. They
rofe in every orchard to the Deity of gardens ; to
.Neptune on the fea-more, and in every bower to Cu-
pid : The Nayads had their grottos, — the Mufes, por-
ticos,— Minerva, pcryftiles — An obeliik to Diana,
appeared in every copfe, and the temple of Venus
ra Jed its cupola over the trees of every foreft.

BUT no fooner was an inhabitant driven from this
delightful climate, to feek a new eilablifhment in
the North -, no fooner had he, with his unfortunate
family found himfelf within the frigid zone — Hea-
vens ! what could equal the horror which feized
him on the approach of winter ! The fun fcarcdy
prcfented his red and gloomy difk above the hori-
zon, the winds roaring through the woods, and
fplitting the trunks of the fir-tree and the oak, —
the fountains congealed, and the courfe of rivers
flayed by the freezing hand of WINTER. Deep
fnows covering with a fpotlefs robe the meadows,
woods, and lakes alike. The plants, ths flowers,
£he fountains, — every thing by which litiman life

can

250 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

can receive comfort, or even fupport — dead. He
can fcarcely breathe, nor dares he touch any
object that prefents itfelf to his eyes — for death is
in the air, and every thing he fees, furnifhes him
•with new caufe of forrow. VVh^n this unhappy crea-
ture hears the cries of his helpleis infants, beholds
their tears freezing on their livid cheeks, and their
arms flretched out to him for the help he has not to
afford them, difcoloured, and perhaps mortifying. —
How horrible muft be his ideas of the land he is come
into — Can he hope for a pofterity from nature, or to
reap harvefts of grain from fields of adamant. — His
hand muft tremble at opening a foil replete with
death to his inhabitants. — Nothing remains but
to participate his mifery with his flocks : with them
to brouze on the mofs and bark of trees, and conti-
nue to wander over a land, where a ft ate of repoie
can be purchafed only with life. Hovy then can he
think of building ? — A den or cavern dug in a rock
is ?iis temporary protection from the cold ; and itA
from the bofom of thefe mows, a monument of any
kind mould arife — what other can it be than a tomb ?

IT is probable that the North of Europe was un-
peopled till the Southern parts were nearly abandon-
ed. The Greeks, harraiTed by their fucceflive ty-
rants, preferred the fweets of liberty to thole of their
native climate, which they therefore dcierted, and
carried with thtrn into Hungary, Bohemia, Po-
land and Ruflia, thofe arts by means of which,
man alone, of all animals, can triumph over the
elements, and bid defiance to the inclemencies of
every climate. From the Morea to Archangel,
an extent of five hundred kagues, no language is
fpoken but the Sclavonic, the words and evert
letters of which derive from the Greek.

The

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 251

THE Northern nations are therefore of Greek
defcent, — they, however, again funk into a ftate
of barbarifm ; but are now once more emerging
from it, under the influence of a legislature more
mild than that of former times. Peter the Great,
has laid the foundation of their modern gran-
deur, and in our time, they live under the govern-
ment of an Emprefs who gives them laws worthy
of Areopagus.

LET,

252 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

LETTER XXVII.

OBSERVATIONS upon the -ISLAND of

ASCENSION. DEPARTURE. Arrival in

FRANCE.

I WAS totally abforbed in my reflections upon this
ifland — Pleafmg objects are for our enjoyment,
calamitous ones for our reflection, The happy man
reafons but feldom the afflicted mind meditates, and
In meditation often finds relief from the evils
which deprefs it, So true is it that nature hath made
pleafure the universal purfuit of man, and when his
heart is incapable of it, me places its feat in his head,

ALTHOUGH the ifland of Afcenfion may be faid to
be without earth and without water, it does not occu-
py a place upon the globe to no purpofe, The turtle
has made choice of this coaft to lay its eggs, which it
does for three months in the year. 'Tis a folitary
animal that flies frequented fhores. A veilePs an-
choring here for twenty four hours will drive them,
from the bay for feverai days, and if a gun be fired,
they will not return in many weeks. The frig-ate
and booby are more familiar, being1 not fo mucrTex-
perienced •, but thefe, upon mores that are inhabited,
ketp upon the very fummits of the rocks, and will
not fuffer themfelves to be approached. This ifland
is their commonwealth, — the primitive manners are
retained, and the fpecies multiply •, for no tyrant can

take

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 253

take up his abode amongft them. Doubtlefs the
common mother of all beings has* ordained that bar-
ren rocks and fands fhould be in the ocean, defolate
indeed, but protected by the jarring elements, as a
refuge and afylum, where the animal world may en-
joy what even among mankind are deemed her chidfeli
blefiings, tranquillity and liberty.

FERTILE and plcafant countries are deprived of
their natural freedom, which this iiland ftill retains.
Surrounded by theAtlantic it has cfcaped that flavery,
which is the bane and the difgrace of Africa and
America. It is common to all nations, pofTcrTed by
none, and is frequented by few but Englifh and
French {hips which flop in their way from India to
catch turtle. The Dutch being victualled at the
Cape, feidom put in here.

THE air of Afcenfion is pure — I lay two nights
together en the ground without covering ; I have
feen rain fall from the clouds whofe courfe was fray-
ed by the fummit of the green mountain, which how-
ever did not appear to be much h'giier than Mont-
martre — This flopping of the clouds is occaiioned by
attraction, which is always more forcible at fea than
within land.

IF a failor is ill of the fcurvy while here, they
cover him with fand, and he quickly finds his
complaint relieved. Although J was very well,
I held my legs for fomc time in this dry bath, and
felt for feveral days after an extraordinary quick cir-
culation of blood, which I could not account for.
But I fuppofe that this fand being compofed of cal-
careous particles, attracts to the Ikin the humours of
the body it inclofes ; like thole abforbent ' ftones

which

254 VOYAGE to tbe ISLE OF FRANCE.

which are applied to a fting to extract the venom : i£
were to be wifhed that fome able phyfician would
make experiments in other diforders, of a remedy
which inftinct alone has taught to the fcorbutic failor.

*J

WE were to pafs one more night afhore —At ten
in the evening I bathed in a fmali bay, between the
landing place and tire main, furrounded with a femi-
circular chain of rocks. At the end of this bay the^
fand is railed to a height of fifteen feet, and runs
down to the fea in a (lope. There are feveral rocks
at the entrance, but they do not rife above the far-
face of the water. The fea when much agitated,'
breaks over them with a prodigious noife, — I was
obliged to gripe faft by the rocks, as the billows
beat over my head almoft every minute.

24th in the morning, the bar was very high/
the fhip hoifled a flag as a fignal for us to come off.
It was irripofiible for the boat to land at the ufual
place ; me had been taking in a dozen of turtles that
had been refervecj, arid was then fwinging by a grap-
pling iron at half a mufqet mot from where we flood.
Some of the ftrongeft amorig the failors pulled off
their clothes, and watching the moment of the fur-
ges leaving the more, carried the luggage and pafTen-
gers on board — running as faft as they could the
whole way.

I told the officer who' commanded, that I thought
her very fufficiently loaden — twenty perfons were
on board her, and as many remained on fliore—
but being defirous of faving the trouble of a fecond
trip -, they continued to go on board. In the mean
time, £ monftrous furge raifing up the barge, broke
the grappling, and threw her on the (bore — eight or
ten men up to the middle in the fea expected to be

darned

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 2*5

*y«^

<daihed to pieces — Had me brought up Tideways, flic
had been loft, but luckily (he was thrown in ftern-
jforemoft. Two or three waves fucceedingr lifted her
alrnoll upright, by which means fhe fhipped a good
deal of water aft— The people on board in their
fright jumped into the water, and were near drown-
ing— But at lenpth the united efforts of us all, fee

DO '

her once more afloat.

ON her return for us who remained, me narrowly
cfcaped the like accident, and happy for us that me
did io, for we were not hands enough to have got
her off — The (hip muft have failed — and we had been
left on an ifland whereon we could have found neither
provifions, wood, nor water. And yet it is faid there
are fome little ponds of frefli water at the foot of the
green mountain — and a few goats, who finding no
herbage but dog's tooth, are half ftarved. Cocoa
trees were planted here, but would not grow.

THE South Eaft part of Afcenfion is compofed of
lava, and the North Eaft of hillocks of cinders 5
whence I conclude that the wind was to the S, E.
when the volcano rofe from the fea— and that it blew
gently, elfe the cinders would have been too much
fcattered to have formed the promontories of hills
they now compofe further that the internal heat
(or combuftible matter) of volcanos is not kind led by
the revolutions of the atmofphere, and that the com-
motions and tempefts of the earth, are independent of
thofe of the air*

THEY mould leem rather to depend upon the wa-
ter ; — of all the volcanos I have feen or know cf,
there are none but what are near the fea, or fome great
lake — I made this obfervation fome time ago when

I

256 VOYAGE to the ISLE* of FRANCE,

I was endeavouring to account for die caufe of then*
— and being confirmed by nature, my opinion is the
more likely to be a juft one

WE fet fail at five in the evening of the 24th of
March. We lived upon turtle for near a month after
—They were kept alive all time by laying them fome-
times on the back and fometimes on the belly, — and
by throwing fea-water over them feveral times a day.

TURTLE is very nutritive, but one is foon tired of
it — the fiefh is very tough, and the eggs but of an
indifferent tafle.

WE repalTed the line, having calms fometimes, and
fbmetimes ftorms. The currents run northward very
perceptibly-, they more than once, carried us ten
leagues in four and twenly hours, when there was no
wind — The 28th of April in lat. 32 N. we faw an
eclipfe of the moon at about eleven o'clock at night ;
we had feveral days of calms •, they are faid to be the
intervals between the different winds which prevail
in thefe latitudes. From 28 to 23 deg. N. the fea
was covered with a marine plant, called grappe as
raifm (clufter of grapes) it was full of fmall crabs
and the fry of rim. This perhaps is a means
which nature makes ufe of to people the mores of
iflands with animals, which could not be tranfported
thither by any other : the fifh frequenting near the
coaft being never found in the main fea.

With great joy we faw the pole ftar again appear
above the horizon — and the pleafure was heightened
every night that it rofe ; the fight of it made my
evening walks very agreeable. One night at ten
o'clock as I was walking upon the quarter deck,
fomebody fpoke in much hafte and feeming fright to

the

VOYAG E to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 257

the officer who had the watch : he bid the man light
a candle, and follow him along the forecaftle. I
took the fame way they did, and preiently we were
hot a little furprized to fee a cloud of thick and black
fmoke iffue from the hatchway. — The failors of the
watch were laid down very quietly upon one of the
fails of the mizen mail, and when we called to them,
were feized with terror. Two or three of the
moft daring went down the hatchway with a lanthorn,
crying out that we mould all perim. We looked
about for buckets, but could not find even one.
Some were for ringing the bell to call up the people,
others for working the pump that was aft, to carry
water below ; every man propofed, but no man at-
tended ; the diforder cannot be defcribed.

AT length being all ranged with our heads (looping
over the hatchway, we waited our deftiny. The fmoke
increafed, and we even faw gleams of flame iffue from
the crevices. Prefently however, a voice from below
called out, that the fire had only catched fome wood
put into the oven to dry. — This moment of inquietude
appeared like a century. Hard fate of feamen ! In the
midft of fine weather, in the midft of the moft perfect
fecurity, and in the very hour of return to our native
country, one unfortunate accident had well nigh
brought upon us the moft dreadful of all deaths.

THE 1 6th — the failors were exercifed in firing at a
mark, which was a bottle hung at the end of the
yard ; the guns were tried : We had five of them.
This was done, that we might be prepared, in cafe
we were attacked by the Saltings* — Fortunately we

* There is no Engli(h word for Saltins — but Sallet being about
that latitude, I fuppofe the Author means the Rovers of that
place. T.

S met

258 VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANC*.

met with none. Our fmall arms were in fuch badi
condition that at the firft firing one of them burft
near me, and wounded the failor that held it very
dangeroufly.

THE 1 7th, I perceived at noon day, upon the Tea,
a long band of a greenim cafty in direction from
North to South— It was motionlefs, and extended
near half a league. The veflH pafled it at the South
end. There was no fwell upon it, or near it. The
captain as well as the officers agreed that it muft
be a Ihoal or flat — it is not marked upon the chart.
We were now as high as the Azores.

THE 2Oth of IvTay — wefaw an Englifh mip bound
to America; they told us we were in 23 deg. longi-
tude, which was 1 40 leagues farther to the weftward
than we imagined ourfelves,

THE 22d of May, in 45 deg. 45 min. N. we
thought we faw a rock, over which the fea broke.
The weather being calmy they hove our a boat. It
was a Ihelf of furf formed by the bed of the fea —
Two hours after, we found a mail furnimed with rig-
ging, which appeared as if cut away from an Englifh
mip in ftrefs of weather. We took it on board joy-
fully, for we began to want firewood, and what was
worfe, provifions •, — having made but one meal a day
for eight days paft.

THE fky had for fome time been clouded over iri
the middle of the day, fo that we did not know in
what latitude we were. The 2 8th, the wind blew fa
hard that the vefiel could carry none but her lower
fails. At eleven in the morning we perceived a fmall
mip before us — we palled to leeward of her. There
were feven men upon her deck, pumping with all

their

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 259

their might ; the water ran cut of all the fcuppers.
We neither of us made much way, and in tacking,
fometimes pailed fo dole, that I feared the next wave
would have run us foul of each other. 1 he Pilot
in his red night cap, called out to us through a fpeak-
ing trumpet, that he had not been four and twenty
hours from Bourdeaux, and was bound to Ireland.
We fufpected him by his hafte, and the bad condition
of his vcffel to be a {muggier, — it is cuftomary at
fea, as well as on land, to form our opinions of Gran-
gers by their appearance.

ABOUT ten o'clock, the wind fubfided ; the clouds
feperated into two long ranges, between which the
fun fhone out. All the fails were now let, and men
placed upon the main top to look out, — her head was
kept to the North Eaft, that we might have the bet-
ter chance for feeing land before evening.

At four o'clock we faw a fmall fmack, which we
hailed, but me did not anfwer : fbe was driving before
the wind. At five o'clock a man aloft, called out,
land^ U'.r.d^ to Leeward — we immediately went v.pon
deck — and many of the people ran up the ihrcucls,
we prefently diftinguifned rocks, that whitened
as we approached — they were thought to be the
mountains of Penmanmaur. We lay too during the
night, and at break of day perceived the coaft three •
leagues a head : but nobody knew what land it was.
The wind was fcant, and by no means fuited to our
impatience. At length we faw a boat, and hailing
her, was anfwered, that me had a Pilot on board.
Overjoyed at hearing the voice of a Frenchman juft
come from his native more— the crew ran with eager-
nefs to the Ihip's fide to fee the Pilot come aboard —
What cbeer* & other, laid the Captain, what land is

S 2. that ?

260 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

that? Beileifle, faid the Pilot— "D'ye think we /hall
have a breeze ?" — "Arfit pleafe God tnajler9 perhaps
we may"

HE had brought with him a large barley loaf,
which having been baked in France, we very foon
eat up for him.

THE calm lafted all day ; towards evening it frefh-
ened, and in the morning we were along fide the Ifle
of Grois and came to an anchor.

THE cuftom-houfe officers came on board; and
after them a croud of fi mermen. — We bought fome
frefh fifh, determining to eat our laft meal together ; —
during which, we got up, we fat down again> — but we
did not eat, — we could think of nothing, we could
look at nothing, but the coaft of France.

THE crew were overwhelmed at the thoughts of
their return home, with a joy, that mewed itfelf in
the moft extravagant ways — I fpoke to feveral, but
could not get an anfwer from one of them — I therefore
agreed with a Fifherman to carry me and my baggage
on more, and having taken a hearty and friendly leave
of the Captain, went ineo the boat, and was foon
landed — thanking God for having once more reflored
me in fafety to my native country.

LET-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 261

LETTER XXVIII.

ON VOYAGES AND VOYAGERS.

IT is cuftomary to try in the beginning of a book
to gain the good will of the reader, who very
often does not read the preface at all ; in my opinion
'tis much better to wait till the end — to the very mo-
ment when he is going to form his opinion ; then it
is impoflible for him to efcape without paying
attention to the Authors excufes — the following are
mine.

I have compofed this work as well as I could, and
nothing has been wanting to give it all the perfection
I am capable of giving it— if it is ill executed — it is
not therefore my fault ; for one mould be blamed for
doing ill, but when we can do better,

IF the ftyle is faulty, I mall be very glad to fee it3
errors pointed out; it mall be my tafk to corre<5b them.
During the ten years I have been abfent from my
country, I have almoft forgotten my own lan-
guage, and I have obferved that it is often of greater
ufe to fpeak well, than to think, or even to act well,
My conjectures and my ideas of nature, are materials
which I defign for the conftruction of a confiderable
edifice ; till I am able to elevate which, I fubmit them
to criticifm. Juft cenfures are like thaws, which dif-r
folve foft ftones, but harden hewn ones. I mall trouble
you with one more obfervation only, which I mail now
S 3 make

262 VOYAGE -to ~tlre ISL-S OF FRANCE.

make life of — twas faid, " a Saint began with a fingle
{tone, what afterwards became a magnificent Abby — '
he atchieved this miracle by time and patience,— for
my part 'tis no- wonder if 1 loft both the one -and the
other.

HAVING faid enough of myfelf, let us go on to
more important objects — 'Tis rather fmgular that
that there has not been one voyage pubiifhed by
thofe of our writers who have the greateft fame in
literature and philofophy. We have no model of
this io interefting fpecies of writing and we mail
long want one, iince Monfieur de Voltaire, D'Alem-
bert, Buffbn, and Roufleau have given us none.
Montaign * and Montefquieu have written their tra-
vels, but have not pubiifhed them. It cannot be
faid that they thought thofe countries in Europe
where they had been, fufficiently known ; fince they
have made fo many new obfervations on even our own
manners which arefo familiar to us. I believe this fpecies
of writing, fo little attempted, abounds with difficulties.
It is neceifary that there mould be an almoft univerfal
knowledge, a plan well arranged, warmth of ftyle,
and truth. One muft fpeak of every thing.

IF any fubject is omitted, the work is imperfect —
If all is laid that' can be faid, one becomes diffufc
and uninterefting.

WE have notwithstanding fome valuable writers of
voyages, ot -whom Addifon is in my opinion among the
foremoft — Unluckily he is not a Frenchman. Char-
din is phiioiophic, but prolix. -The Abbede Choifi

* Since the Author wrote this It tier, the mamifcript of Mon-
fieur Mor.t -ijrn's travels through Italy was found in an old cheft,
and was publifned at Paris in the courie of laft year. T.

c v . M i. : , .: . ,-... faves

VOYAGE/9/^ ISLE OF FRANCE. 263

faves the reader the irkfomnefs of a fea journal -^-he is
agreeable, but that is all we can fay of him. Tour-
nefort describes learnedly the monuments and plants
of Greece, but on fuch a fubjeft as the ruins of
Athens a man mould write with more feeling. La
Hontan fpeculates, and fometimes bewilders himfelf in
the folitudes of Canada. Lery defcribes the manners
of the Brafilians, as well as his own adventures,
with a pleafing fimplicity. From thefe different geni-
ufes might be compofed one excellent one — but every
man has one peculiar to himfelf — for inftance,
the failor who wrote in his journal that he " pafled
44 by Teneriff at the diftance of four leagues, the
" inhabitants of which place feemed very affable.'*

SOME Travellers fpeak on one fubject only;
this feeks after monuments, ftatues, infcriptions, me-
dals, &x. If they meet with a man of extraordinary
learning, they beg of him to write his name and
fome ientence in their a bum. Althou gh this
cuftom is a commendable one, I mould prefer an en-
quiry after examples of probity, virtue and great-
nefs of foul of the moft eminent men of each
place. — Had I written my voyages to the north,
the world would have feen therein, :he names of Ol-
gorouki, the Palatine Xatorinfki, Duval, &c. Re-
markable buildings would not have been unnoticed,
fuch as the Arfcnal of Berlin, and the Royal Academy
of Cadtts at Peterfburg : As to fubjedh of antiquity,
I confefs that they infpire me with none but the moft
gloomy ideas. A triumphal arch is to me a proof of
the weaknefs of human nature and the uncertainty of
its purfuits ; the column, — the ftatue remains,—-
but the conqueror to whofe honour they were erected,
js no more.

S 4 I

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.'

I prefer the tendril of a vine to a pyramid, and
fhould with far greater pleafure import to France ond
nutritive plant, than the filver fhield of Scipio.

IN the fame degree that the arts become naturalized
among us — nature herfelf is eitranged — We are even
fo artificial that we give to objects, merely natural,
the appellation of curiofuies^ and feek for proofs ot
divinity among books, in which (thole of reve-
lation apart) but vague reflections and general indi-
cations of univerfal order are to be found, Yet would
we mew the ingenuity: of an artift, we fliould rather
particularize the feveral parts of his work, than give
a general definition only .of it. Nature prefents to us
relations fo very ingenious, intentions fo beneficient,
and fcenes, which though mute, and I might even fay
imperceptible, are fo expreflive, that they rnuft in-,
fluence the moft inattentive mind — and excite an
exclamation of, furely there is a GOD.

THE art of defcribing natural objects is fo little
known or ufed, that terms to exprefs them are not yet
invented. Attempt but the description of a moun-
tain in fuch manner that it mail be recognized ; when
you have fpoken of the bafe, the flanks, and the
fummit, you have faid every thing. But what a va-
riety is difcernable in thefe forms, round, long, flat,
hollow — 'tis a mafs of words without information.
The difficulty is the fame as to hills and vailies — If a
man were to defcribe a palace, he could do it with-
out being the leait einbarrafled — 'Tis of fome of the
five orders of architecture — 'tis fubdivided into fur-
bafe, principal ftory, entablature; and in each of
thefe, from the plinth to the cornifh, there is
not a fingle moulding without its proper name.

WE

VOYAGE to tbe ISLE OF FRANCE. 265

WE need not wonder then at the imperfect accounts
travellers give of natural objects — In delineating a
country, they tell you of towns, rivers, and moun-
tains,— but thepicture is as barren, and conveys as lit-
tle idea to the imagination, as a mere geographical

chart Of Indoitan or of Europe, 'tis all one.

The phyfiogncmy (if the expreffion may be allowed)
is not there. Do they fpeak of a plant ? they give a
detail of the flowers, the leaves, the bark, the roots -,
but its port, its femblage,, elegance, or inelegance
are not to be defined — The fimilitude of an object
•depends upon the harmony, the unity, and connection
of its feveral parts— for you may have the meafure
and proportion of ail the mufcles in a man's body,
but you will not therefore have his portrait.

IF travellers, who have treated of nature,
are defective in point of exprefilon, they amply make
-up by the abundance of their conjectures. For a
long time I was induced to believe, from the accounts
I had read, that men might live in the woods in a ftate
of nature. .1 did not find one fmgle wild, and unknwon
'fruit, that was fit to eat in all the Ifle of France ; and
thofe I tailed, I did fo at the hazard of being poiibned.
Some few indeed were of a tolerable tafte, but of thele
'twould have been hardly poflible to collect enough for
the breakfaft of a monkey — there are indeed feveral
noxious roots, that are bulbous and of a fort called
Nymphea, (or Water Lilly) but even thefe grow under
water, where 'tis not likely our man in the ftate of
nature would feek for them. • At the Cape I expected
to have found mankind better fupplied. 1 faw arti-
chokes of a fine frefh colour growing upon bufhes ;
but they were fo crabbed, they were 'not eata-
ble. In the woods of France and Germany there
js no other than the maft of the beach and the fruit of

the

the chefnut — and thefe laft but a fhort feafon. It ia
affirmed that in the golden age of the Gauls, our ancef.
tars lived upon acorns •, but the acorns of onr oaks
are too aftringent, thofe of the green oak only being
digeftible. It is alfo rarely found in France, altho'
very commonly in Italy,

THE firs in the forefts of the north yield a kind of
apple, upon which the fquirrels feed greedily, but I
doubt they are not proper for the food of men. Na-
ture would have dealt but hardly with the fovereign
of the animal world, had me fprcad a plenteous table
for every other race of beings, and left him cieftitute j
but that he alone is endued with reafon, and a d fpo-
fition to fociety, without which the former would 'be
but of little ufe to to him. From this one obferva-
tion we may draw the following confequences — that
the moil itupid peafant is fupenor to the moft intelli-
gent animal — which no art could teach to till, to
fow, and reap, — that man is born for fociety, and
incapable of living without it ana that the comum-
Rity owes to each individual ihat fu:-h fiance, which
community alone can provide, and without which the
individual muft periflu

ANOTHER faujk of travellers- is, their placing hap-
pinefs any where rather than in their native country.
Their deicriptions of foreign countries are fo entirely
agreeable, that they incline one ever after to be out of
humour with ones own.

NATURE feems in ray opinion to have more equally
distributed her good things, than we may at firrt ap-
prehend. 1 know .not whether to prefer a very hot,
or a very cold climate. The latter is the more whol-
fome i moreover die cold is an inconvenience ealily

to

y O Y A G E to the ISLS OF FRANCE. 267

- • . •

to be remedied, whereas the heat, is hardly to be en-
clured, and can never be avoided. For one fix
months I have feen the landfchape about Peteriburg
perfectly white •, for another fix months I have feea
the lileof France totally black •, add to this the de-
ftrudlion occafioned by the vermin and the hurri-
canes, and which then mall we chufe ? It is true
that in India the trees are in leaf all the year round,
and bear fruit without being grafted — and that the
birds are numerous and beautiful, — but all things
confidered I give France the preference, efpecially
if the conftant fpectacles of mifery be confidered in
the eftimate — for the fight of one man in a ftate of
wretchednefs is fufficient to effectually deftroy my
happinefs. Can one think without horror that Afri-
ca, America, and a great part of Alia are in flavery ?
In Indoftan all directions to fervants are delivered
with a flroke of a rattan •, infomuch, that the cane
has obtained the title of King of the Indies -, even in
the boafted country of China, corporal punifhmcnts
are inflicted for the moft trifling offences. Among
us, — culprits- even, are treated with fome degree of
confideration as men. How defolate, how rigid fo-
cver the northern climates may be deemed — nature in
its rudeft ftate will ftill in fome refpeft prefent me
with a pleafmg profpe<5t. I have been witnefs of
very affecting fcenes even among the rugged rocks of
Finland. • I have feen r there, fummers finer and more
ferene than thofe of the tropics, days without night,
lakes fo covered with fwans, ducks, woodcocks, plo-
vers, &c. that ' one might fay they had forfaken all
other waters to come hither and build their nefts.
,J*he fides of the rocks are frequently covered with
inofs of a mining purple, and the Kloucva * with

* A beautiful kind of creeper with a red flower.

its

263 VOYAGE te the ISLE OF FRANCE.

its flowers of fcarlet, and leaves of lively green, ha-r
ving fpread abroad a carpet on the ground, meet?
with the flately fir^ and round the dufky pyramid
twines its fragrant branches, forming retreats alike
adapted to love or to philofophy. In a deep valley,
and on the margin of a meadow, flood the manfion
of a gentleman of family^ where repofe was undi-
fturbed, fave by the found of a torrent of water,
which the eye faw with pleafure falling and foaming
upon the black furface of a neighbouring rock.
'Tis true, that in winter the verdure and the birds dif-
appear together. Wind, mow, hoar froft, and hail
envelope and beat upon the hou{e% while chearful-
neis and hofpitality reign within. They will go fif-
teen leagues to vifit each other, and the arrival of a
friend proclaims a feftival for a week : * they drink
the healths of their guefts, their ladies, and their
great men, to the found of horns and drums. The
old men fit fmoaking by the fire and relate the feats
of their youth, while the young fellows in their boots,
dance to the fife or tabor, round the Finland maid ;
who in her furred petticoat, appears like Minerva irv
the midft of. the youths of Sparta.

IF their manners are uncouth, their hearts are not
without fenfibility — They talk of love, of pleafure,
of Paris -, for Paris is the metropolis of the female
lex. 'Tis thither that the women of Ruffia, Poland,
and Italy come to learn the art of ruling the men,

* The women are of their parties, and 'tis but juft that as
they bear their hufbands company in the wars, they ihould pre-
f;de in their entertainments. Jnliances of conjugal afftcYion
among thefe people a: e frequent and exuaordinaty. The wives
of Tome general officers I have known, have followed their huf-
bands in the field from their firft entering into the army.
Now of the Authqr,

with

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

With ribbands and laces -, 'tis there the fair Parifian
exerts her power with humour ever gay, and graces
ever new, and tyrannizes over her Engiiili lover, who
throws at her feet, his gold, and harder to part with,
his melancholy -, while fhe, from the very bolbm or"
art, laughing prepares, a garland which binds by it*
pleafures every people of Europe,

OF all cities I mould prefer Paris, not for its di-
verfions, but becaufe its inhabitants are a good fort of
people^ and live in liberty. What are to me its
iplendid coaches, its Hotels, its crowded ftreets, its
public mews, its banquets, vifitings, and friend/hips as
loon difiblved as made. Thefe numerous pleafurcs
are productive of only fuperficial happinefs, and en-
joyment. Life ought not to be a mere fpectacle,
'Tisin the countty only that a man enjoys the genuine
feelings of his heart, and the pleaiiires of ibciety
with his wife, his children and friends. A country
life is preferable in every refpect to living in towns -,
the air is pure, the profpecls enlivening, the walks fine,
provilions at hand, and the manners of men, better,
becaufe more fimple. The lover of liberty depends
vipon heaven alone : here the mifer receives new pre-
fents hourly, the warrior gives himfelf up to the
ehace, the voluptuary places here his garden, and
the philofopher may indulge his meditations without
fear of interruption. Of animals, ihew me one more
ufeful than the ox, more noble than the horie, or
Uiore faithful than the dog.

OF all rural fcenes, I prefer thofe of my own country j
hot on account of their fuperior beauty, but becaufe
I have been brought up there. In a man's native
place there is a fecret attraction, a fomething affecting,
which is not the gift of fortune, nor can any other
communicate it. Where are the games of our infant

days ?

270 VOYAGE to tie ISLE OF FRANCE.

days ? — days when pleafure abounded without fore-
thought and without alloy ? What joy I have expe-
rienced at finding a bird's heft ! — With what delight
have I cherifhed and careffed a partridge — received
the ftrokes of its bill — and felt under my hand the
palpitation of its heart and the Muttering of its
wings ! Happy the man who revifits the icenes
where every thing was beloved, every thing was ami-
able— the meadow he had ran races in! ortheorchard
he had ravaged ! more happy he, who has never
quitted you, paternal roof, facred afylum ! The
wanderer returns indeed, but does not find his home •,
• — of his friends, fome are dead, — feme gone away;

his family is difperfed, his protectors -but life is

no more than a fhort voyage •, and the age of man
like a winter's day. I will not however think upon
its troubles, but call to mind the virtues, the good
offices, and the conftancy of my friends. Perhaps
their names and my grateful acknowledgement may
continue to live even in thefe letters — Perhaps they
may fometime reach even to you, amiable inhabi-
tants of the Cape ! For thee unhappy African, who,
on the rocks of Mauritius bewailed thy truly
wretched lot •, it is not for my feeble hand to alleviate
thy griefs, or dry thy tears — but if I have induced
thy tyrant matter to look upon them, with regret, and
upon himfelf, with remorfe as the caufe of them — I
have nothing more to afk of India — I mail have
made my fortune.

PARIS, January r, 1773.

LET-

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 271

L E T T E R XXIX.
OF TREES.

A^MONG the curiofities I have brought
jT\ are fome madrepores, which are very commojn
in the feas of India, the lllands in general being en-
compafled with them. They grow under water, and
form forefbs of feveral leagues extent, in which fifties
fwim about, as birds fly in the woods. The madre-
pores do not bear fruit, nor can they be included in
the vegetable fyftem •, they are the work of an infi-
nite number of fmall animals, who unite their ef-
forts for the formation of thefe plants of the fea,
The fhrubs which I have fent with the madrepores,
are called litophites, and are, as well as the corals,
equally the work of fmall animals. This, which
you may look upon as a mere conjecture, is confirm-
ed by microfcopical obfervation. The chymical ex-
periments on this matter are rather uncertain, becaufe
the reafonings of chymiftry are founded upon the
diflblution of the fubjedt. At length, however a con-
cluiion is drawn from the regularity of thefe works,
in favour of the opinion, that they are produced and
effected, by beings actuated by a fpirit of order and
intelligence. After all, a ihrub is not more difficult
to make than an hexagonal cell of wax, as formed by
bees. The difpute fubfiiled for fome time; but all
the world is now agreed *.

* All the fptmijes have the figure of plants, and are branched
in fo many different ways, that we could hardly believe them tf»
be the work of marine infi-cls, — their texture is fo compact, and
their fibres fo delicate, that it is inconceivable how thefe animals
can lodge in them. BOUGAINVILLE, on Nat, Hirt. of Ifle <te
Malouines. T.

But

272 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE*

IN my opinion, that every flower is inhabited,,
I (land entirely alone. * Do not think I mean to adopt
the Grecian fancy of the Hamadryads, that every
Laurel had its Daphne, and that every one unfortu-
nately killed by a Quoit; is the inhabitant of one fort
of tree -, or that all who die of felf-love mould be
lodged in the Narciffus. — Could I ablblutely confirm
the truth of this fyrlern^ I mould riot thereby prove
the purpofe of univerfal happinefs to be advanced. —
The legs and arms may be lopped off from the filters of
Phaeton, for a clown to make faggots of. — My in-
habitants have no fuch lean,— but they are wile, and
they are ingenious.

I AM aware that the fupport of this opinion, will
be more difficult, than of that with rcfpect to the
madrepores. — Men intereft themfelves little about
what paffes at the bottom of the fea, but 'tis widely
different with flowers, which are objects generally
known and ufed, and have a received opinion affixed
to every thing relating to them. And yet I cannot
fee why our plants, which refemble the madrepores
in every other refpect, mould not in their being in-
habited alfov

EVERY machine of a natural conftruction has an
internal organization, which tends to a certain effect,
by a certain means. For example ; in the ear there
is a thin elaflic concave membrane called the tympa-
num, adapted to the reception of founds •, and in the
eye, a fort of tranfparent and convex membrane,
which collects the rays of light upon the retina. The
ear is evidently contrived for the purpofe of hearing,

* See an Eifey on the fubjc&s of chymiftry which was publiflied
in 1771, by Dr. Watfon, then Prof cflbr of Ghymiitry, but fin ce,'
Reg. Prof, of Divinity of Cambridge. T, -

as-

\
VOYAGE to tie ISLE of FRANCE. 273

as the eye for feeing : never will a blind man fee by
means, of his ears, nor a deaf man hear with his eyes,
Jf then a tree is a machine, one part of it muft be
appropriated for the bearing of flowers, another for
the fpreading of the roots, both of which would in
that cafe, make their appearance, at the extremity of
the plant affigned to them by nature : — but mould
we plant a willow at the waters edge, with the head
downwards, the roots would in due time bear leaves.
But we are not for this realbn to expect an hydraulic
machine to fprout from our planting a common pump
in the ground, or that laying in a lupine pofture any
animal incapable of turning himfelf, his claws or his
legs, would in procels of time grow out of his back.

CHANGE of pofition cannot affect the parts fo as
to caufe either to perform the office of the other ; in
every machine which has been invefligated, each part
produces its proper effect, nor can it be inftrumental
to any other. The laws of nature are fimple^ uni-
verfal, and conftant.

I LOOK upon a tree as a" republic,, and not as a
machine. As foon as a branch of a willow is planted
on the margin of a river, the little animals which
were mclofed in it, betake themfelves to :hofe parts
where their labours are moft immediately neceffary —
All fecondary confiderations are laid afide. The
leaves are deferted and fall off. Some employ them-
felves in clofing the breach that has been made in
their habitation, by furrouridmg and covering it with
a bourrelet (or pad). Others have pumed forth in
the earth, long fubterraneous galleries, in fearch of
provifions and materials for the ufe of the communi-
ty. If they meet with a rock, they turn their courfe
another way, perhaps furround it with their labours,
to form a fupport for the fabrick they are conitruc-

T ting

236 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF

ting. In fome fpecies, as in the oak, they drive dowrf
a long pivot (or tap root] which fupports the whole
habitation •, each nation has its different manners :
Some build upon piles like the Venetians, others up-
on the furface of the earthy as the Savages raife their
cabbins or huts.

WHEN the diforder is fet to rights, they employ
themfelves in making magazines of provifions. Po-
pulation among the little republicans is very rapid,
becaufe of the cafe of fubfiiting. They live upon
oils and volatile falts4 with which the air and the earth
abound. To obtain thofe of the air, they have re--
courfe to the method practifed by failors when in
want of freih water, and as they fpead out their fails
in rainy weather, — thefe difplay leaves, as fo many fur-
faces, which, that they may not be carried away by
the wind are moft ingenioufly faftened by one point of
fupport, at the extremity of a pliant and elaftic tail
or ftem.

SOME of them afcend through the trunk with drops
of liquor, others again defcend by the bark with the
fuperfluous aliment.

IF the >,aves were formed by the fap> as may be
imagined by fome, the fruit and flowers might be fo
likewife : but, graft a wild ftock -, the fruits of the
graft mall be good, while thofe of the flock mail not
be changed in the leail. If the fap which has af-
cended by the trunk of the graft, and has defcended
again by its bark, had partaken of any quality, it
would have fhewn itfelf in the fruits of the ftock.
But this does not appear, and why it does not is evi-
dent :. The animals of the ftock bring materials to-
clofe the orifice made for inferting the graft, which
.on their arrival, the inhabitants of the graft receive

and

VOYAGE to the ISLE OP FRANCE.

and fabricate of them excellent fruits : whilft thofe of
the ftock continue to form their ufual indifferent
ones. The materials are the fame, the dudts are in
common, but the artificers are different. It may be
afked, how thefe beings are protected from an incle-
ment winter. They, as other animals, have inftinft-
tive precautions for their fafety ; they invelop their
houfes with coverings proportioned in number and
texture to the climate they are defigned by nature to
inhabit. The trees of the North, as the fir, the birch,
&c. have three feveral barks, — thole of hotter coun-
tries have a fort of cuticles only, by which the fap
defcends.

THE fagacity of thefe animals mews itfelf in ano-
ther refpeft, — they proportion the height of their
edifice to the fize and extent of its bafe. In laying
their foundations, they meet with a variety of ob-^
ttructions, — another tree, — rocks, — or an improper
foil when they have reached a certain depth. In the
air, they are not reftrained, except by conliderations
of fafety. We have a ftrong proof of this in plantjs
which twine and cling ; for they fpread themfelves to
a very great extent without flopping. Some of the
liannes have ihoots fo long, that it would be difficult
to find the ends of them. The beans which climb,
rife to an extreme height, while the marm bean fcarce-
ly attains to three feet — thefe are notwithftanding
equally long lived. We fee alfo, that trees growing
on mountains, are low in ftature : thofe of the fame
fpecies in deep and flickered vallies, that have no fear
of the winds, rife with more boldnefs to a far greater
height ; and I am perluaded, that if an elm in the
courfe of its growth, were to pafs through a number
of terrafles, its inhabitants would with courage lay a
feparate foundation in each, and raile the head to a,
height that would be prodigious.

T 2 THE

276 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCES

THE Chinefe make a curious experiment, which
will confirm what I have juft advanced. They choofe
upon an orange-tree, a branch with its fruit, which
they bind hard with a brafs wire, and cover this liga-
ture with wet earth, upon which is prefently formed
a bourrelet (or pad) with roots, — they then cut off
this little tree, and with its large fruit fet it upon a
table. Had it been left in its original fituation, it
would have formed a fecond ftage of orange-tree.
Here then we have another proof that trees are not
machines, — becaufe they can always grow, and have
no determined fize;

* Monfieur Bougainville fays, that in Otaheitee weeping wil-
lows are allowed to be planted before the houfes of great men on-i
ly,— and that it is known, that by bending the branches of this
tree, and planting them in the ground, the fhadow may extend

as far, and in what direflion you pleafe. Of this tree thtf

dining hall of the Kings of Otaheitee is formed. T.

LET*

VOYAGES to the ISLE OF PRANCE. 277

LETTER XXX.

Of FLOWERS.

THERE are many productions of nature, of which
our eyes will not enable us to form a judgment;
are we therefore to doubt of their exiftence •, mall we
fay that the animals of which I ipeak are void of the,
feveral fenfes of tafte, fight, or feeling : as well may
we doubt that the Romans, who built the amphi-
theatre of Nimes, eat, drank, or flept, becaufe the
Hiftorians, who tell us of this building, do not make
particular mention of their doing fo. Your garden
is watered daily, and you afk whether its inhabitants
drink ? You know that when plants deprived of air,
decay almoft immediately ; and you again afk, whe-
ther they breathe ? Some flowers' are known to clofe,
and fhut up their leaves in the night ; and others not
only do fo, but even change their colours. — Among
trees alfo, there are fome that clofe their leaves en-
tirely in the evening, as the tamarind-tree. Can we
then deny the influence of the light upon them,
when its effects are fo evident.

THE movement and contraction of the fenfitive
plant upon the approach of the hand towards it,
has been attriDuted to the animal heat ; but this
cannot be the cafe, becaufe I have feen it equally
to move and contract upon being touched with a

T 3 flick,

278 VOYAGE to the ISLE QF FRANCE.

flick, a (tone being thrown towards it, and even by;
the wind *. Its powers of motion and contraction
can proceed therefore from no other than an intrinfic
caufe.

SHOULD it be objected, that thefe animals depart
from the univerfal "fyftem of felf-prefervation -, that
all others employ themfelves in labours ufeful to them-
felves, and thefe, in making flowers which anfwer no
purpofe but the pleafure and gratification of mankind,
and which, after all the pains and trouble beftowed'
in their formation, can fcarcely be faid' to exiit for a
day. A reply is ready from the continuation of the
account of their proceedings : The mother-country,
and fpeaking of inhabitants^ the expreffion I think
rr.ay be allowed) being now too populous, the next
care is to fend forth colonies.— The fine weather in the
fpring, is the time chofen for this purpofe, and for
providing fuftenance for the emigrants. — Sugar, milk
and honey are collected, and depofited in build-
ings conftructed with admirable ingenuity. The
heat and action of the fun is now of the greateft con-
fequence, as well to bring to perfection the p'rovifi-
ons, as to. promote and accelerate the fponfalia.

IT fhould feem, that this politic people, when they
colonife, unite their colonilts by ties the moft forci-

* A new fpecies of Senfitive Plant has been lately difccvcred in
the marfhy parts of North Ameiica, which has been tranfplanted
to England, and grows there. It is called the Dionaea Mufcipuia,
cr Vniut Aitrafemouche. Its leaf is ho fooner touched by a fly or
other infect, than it folds itfelf over it's prey, and remains in that
compreffed Rate till the captive is entirely confuted. It will cl&fe
up equally if touched by a rtraw, hair, or pin. Experiment has
not yet afcertaiivd, whether this plant derives its ncurifhment
irom the flies it takes ; but it ieenvs very likely that it does fo,
ai d if thi* be the cafe, the Aitraf,einoucbg tends more than all hi-
tkerto known, of the different fpecies of the Polypus, to confirm
til* analogy between animah aud vegetables. T,

ble

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 279

ble, that nature knows or is capable of, — they adopt the
megfure of government when eftablifhing our iettle-
ments on the Miffiifiippi, who fent out very few per-
fons, but fuch as were newly married.

THE males erect little hollow tubes, on the tops of
which they form lodgements of golden duft, from
whence they defcend to the bottom of the flowers,
where the females expect them with impatience.

THE flower, appears to be the work of the female
— It is hung with the moft beautiful fattins, purple —
Iky-blue black. — One may fancy it a bridal-cham-
ber, whence are exhaled the moft flagrant perfumes,
— Or it may be called a vaft temple, in which at once
are celebrated an infinity of nuptial ceremonies — each
leaf is a bed — each ftamina a bride— and many famir
lies inhabit under the fame roof.

SOMETIMES the females make their appearance by
themfelves upon one tree, and the males upon ano-
ther. Perhaps in thefe republics, the ftronger fex.
keeps the weaker one in fubjection, and will not ad-
mit them to aflbciate upon public occafions, altho*
there is a neceflity for making ufe of them upon par-
ticular ones. — Like the Amazons of old, who were
ierved by flaves of the male fex, but allied themfelves
with none but free people.

IN the palm-tree, the female alone is employed ir*
preparing the conjugal bed ; which when perceived
by the male, he fubmits himfelf to the dilpoial of the
winds, and is by them tranfported upon thefe beds,
called by the botanifts, Prolific Duft.

I MAY feem on this occafion, to be tranfported by
my imagination beyond the bounds of probable rea-

T 4 fon-,

28o VOYAGE to the ISLE OF KRANCE.

fon ; let me therefore return to my fubject #nd fpeak
of the form and fhape of flowers ; which is always
circular,, whatever be the form of the fruit. — Their
leaves, or coronets are difpofed around as mirrors,
— plain, fpherical, or'eliptic, fo as properly to
receive and reflect the heat to the. focus of their
curves, for the due formation of the embrio which
contains the feed. The flowers that yield feed are
fingle ones, becaufe the placing of one mirror behind
another, would have anlwered no end.

AMONG vegetables, the juices of which are vifcous
and lefs liable, to ferment, .fuch as bulbous and aqua-
tic plants, my little geometricians conftruct reverbe-
rating machines, in the form of furnaces, which, are
portions of cylinders, funnels, or bells, — oblervable
in lillies, tulips, hyacinths, jonquils, liilies of the
valley,- narcifiuffes, &c.

THOSE that begin their labours early in the fpring,
adopt alfo this" prudent mode of formation, witnei§
the primrofe, crocus, fno^-drop, &c,

THOSE that build expofed to the air, and that grow
but near to the ground — as the duily andphTabed, form
mirrors neady plain. Thofe on the other hand, that
are fomethmg j;»ore in the fhade, as violets and ftraw-
berries, form mirrors that are more concave/

THOSE that attempt to tranfplant themfelves in hot
weather, contraft the circumference of the flower, in
order to diminifh the effeft, fuch are the blue -bell,
and pink, &c. Others, as the pomegranate and wild
poppy^ runiple up their leaves to ihelter the difk from
the iun, the two .great heat of its rays rendering fuch
a protection necellary, — 'tis the fame in papilionaceous
flowers, -whofe form is. rather calculated to re-unite the
Direct rays of the fun. than to collect anew their re-
heat. - , ANOTHER

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 281

ANOTHER example of their attention, is, that the
flowers of fummer which have large cups, are faften-
ed to ligaments, by which they are rather fufpended
than fupported j they quickly lofe their flowers : of
this kind, are the wild poppy, the poppy, the flower
of the pomegranate, &c.

THERE is another fpecies, of which the fun-flower
is one, whofe leaves are difpofed as radii round the
circumference ; the flower is here placed upon a flexi-
ble knee, by means of which, the inhabitants arc
conflantly turning it towards the fun. One might
fancy them fo many Academicians, directing a telef-
cope, or reflecting mirror towards that luminary.

The fame prudent conduct is remarkable with re-
fpect to the colours of flowers,- — white and yellow
being the moft adapted for collecting the reflected
rays i the generality of fpring and autumnal flowers
Jare of thofe or fuch like bright and clear teints;
the degree of heat being fo fmall makes the ufe of
active mirrors necefiary.

THE flowers of thefe two feafons which are of a
deep red, as the anemony, piony, and fome fort of
tulips, have their centers black, as moft proper to
abforb the rays immediately. The fummer flowers
are of deeper colours, and lefs adapted for reverber-
ation. In this feafon we frequently fee blue and red,
but black very rarely, becaufe it never reflects at all.
Poppies which are of a deep brown, are, if expofed
to the fun, burnt up before the flower is developed.

THE elevation of plants, their fize, their colour
the form in which they are cut or fcolloped, feem

all

28 2 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

all combinecl in a, wonderful harmony — Confidered
in this light, flowers inftead of being mere objects of
pleafure, are fit fubjects of ftudy for the ableft geome-
tricians.

NATURE in all her difpofitions is equally bountiful
andjuft — Things for our ufeare furmfhed to us with
fimplicity : for iuperfluity and enjoyment, with mag-
nificence. Corn, olive trees and vines, are inftances
of the former, flowers, and many other beautiful
natural productions, of the latter

THE animals of India as they differ from ours in
their wants, are equally different in their operations
— in our climates, heat is neceffcry : our animals
therefore form the flowers before the leaves. — And
farther north, they build a folid flower and cover it
with fcales — thefe are ranged in a conoid form upon
a fort of efpalier. The fir tree and the birch would
be parched up in hot countries, wherefore they never
grow there,

THE trees of India are full of fpreading leaves,
under the fhade of which grow the flowers. Their
circumference is never very compact, as may be leen
in the orange or citron trees,

ON trees that have but few leaves, as the agathis,
the various forts of palms, the date, cocoa, and la-
tamer, — the flowers grow in pendant clufters — In this
inverted ftate, they are not liable to be fcorched by
the .fun, having no other heat than a reflected one.
Trees of Europe bearing flowers in clufters, bear
them upright, as the vine, lilach, &c.

To

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 283

To conclude — In Europe the flowers feem to feek
for the fun i in India, to avoid and Ihun it, the
greater number either growing clofe to the trunk of
the tree, or elfe hang down in bunches as thole above
clefcribed.

LETTER XXXI.

OF FRUITS.

IT may be alledged as an argument againft the fyf-
tem for which I contend, that my animalcules
reafoning too much from confequences, feem therein
even to be wifer than men. Wherefore is this but
becaufe the animal is endued with an inftinct, equal
in effect to that experience which man is ever arriving
at, and never attains to. The fpider, weaves as foon
as it iffues from the egg — The portion of intelligence
afforded to each fpecies is perfect from the beginning,
and fuffices for all the wants of the animal —'Tis a
general obfervation, that the fmaller the animal, the
greater its induftry — Among birds, the fwallow is
more alert than the oftrich : of infects none is fo
fmall, nor is any fo laborious as the ant — Activity
and adroitnefs feem given to the weaker animals as
a compenfation for the want of ftrength — and mine
being fo much fmaller than all thefe ; I am juilified
\n believing that they are alfo more intelligent.

A

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCS.

A degree of heat being amaiTed, fufftcient to unite
the families at the bottom of the calice or cup of the
flower, the whole nation is employed in carrying thi-
ther honey and milk. This iaft is a fuftenance ap-
parently defigned for all animals when in their infant
itate ; even the yolk of an egg, if 'tis diffoivc'l in
water, is converted to a confiflence like cream. The
colony then takes up its refidence in the part called
the Bourgeon, (or bud). The provilions are ranged
around, under the appearance of milk, which is
loon after changed to an oily, and more folid fub-
ilance.

To protect this colony from accidents it might be
liable to, it is, together with its provifions, envelo-
ped in a (hell. This covering is fometimes as hafd as
a ftone •, great care however is taken to leave an
opening, as in nuts, or fmall holes at the end, co-
vered by a valve — by this outlet, the young family
find egrefs. Not one (ingle grain is known, but
what is in its organifation, raited to this purpofe.

NOR in advancing this, do I attribute to them a
greater degree of intelligence, than is feen in other in-
fects.— The fpider lays its eggs in a bag, which alfo
has its orifice. The iilk worm flints itfelf up in a
pod, of a texture wonderfully compact, except in
that part towards the head, which is fo contrived as
to allow it to efcape from its, confinement at the pro-
per time — this precaution is common to all vermicular
infects. But all animals that unite their labours, have
infinitely more ingenuity in their proceedings, than
thole which work individually — theie, exceed in inge-
nuity all others — for, while they conitruct the build-
ing, and collect provifions for the fupport of the in-
fant colony, left the work mould be deftroyed by the
birds, or other animals, it is environed with a fub-

ftancc

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 285

fiance of a naufeous tafte, as the external coat of
walnuts, which is bitter, — or fortified with prickly
points, as the fliell of the chefnut. Thefe operations
of my animalcules originate from the fame caufe,.
which directs the rabbit to dig itfelf a burrough in
the earth-, the lapwing to fu-fpend its neft by a few
threads • and the duckling to take to the waiter, before

O

it has feen the drake iwim u-pon the furface. Let us
not wonder then that the role bufh is armed with
prickles, and protected all over, by the fame means,
which the chefnut has provided for its fruit alone.

THIS defence is commonly feen among mrubs that
grow on the borders of the woods, and are expofed
to the ravages of beafts that feed there — The fea
rum, the bramble, the black and red thorn, the
goofeberry tree, and even the nettle and thiftle,
which grow by the way fide, are furnifhed with
prickly points for their defence. They are in fact to
the woods, as frontier towns are to a province.

THE colony once fupplied with the necefTary pro-
vifions, have various modes of tranfplanting, or
tranfporting themfelves-- thofe fufpended aloft in the
air, have nothing to do but to fufier themfelves to
fall down — the fruit drops, and after having reboun-
ded a few times, reds perhaps thirty paces from the
parent tree. And here I muft remark that thofe fruits
which fall from a great height, are rounder and hard-
er in proportion to their fall — The acorn, the maft
of the fir tree, the chefnut, the common nut, the
pine apple, are in their feveral ways protected from
the violence of the ftroke they receive in coming to
the ground. Nature having pre-contrived when fhe
raifed them fo far above the earth, that their return to
it, mould not be attended with ill confequences. On

the

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE,

the other hand, the artificers of the linden treej
which grows in moift and fwampy grounds, know
very well, that fhould they conftruft unweildy co-
verings, their weight would bury them in the fame
place they fell. Wherefore, their feed is fixed to a
long fibre or feather, with which it is let down by de-
grees, and carried away by the winds. The willow;
which grows in the fame kind of foil, has its tufts of
feathers as well as the reed. The feeds of the elm,
are placed in the midft of a large follicle or purfe ;
by means of thefe, which ferve them as wings, they
are tranfported to any diilance. By the conitruclion
of its feedj I mould be induced to think the elm de-
figned for the inhabitant of the valley. We need no
longer wonder that the cherry and peach tree rife but
to a middling ftature. A full grown peach which
mould fall from the heiget of an elm, would not go
far. How then, you will fay, do thofe that are mere
fhrubs, fuch as the blue bell, artichoke, thiftie, &c.
for they cannot roll away from where they lit. I an-
fwer, that thefe alfo affix their colonies to a kind of
wings, and they are then tranfported by the wind.
In autumn you may fee the air full of them. They
are fufpended with equal induftry as ingenuity, and
however far they travel, the feed always fails perpen-
dicularly ; and there are fome fort of peas with elailic
(hells, which when ripe, moot forth their feed to the
diftance of ten or twelve feet. Do you now think
that a plant is no more than an hydraulic machine ?

FURTHER, as the inhabitant of the chefnut, and
other fruits which I have mentioned, protect: them-'
fclves from the attacks of the birds — fo the flrawber-
ry, and the rafberry, make their enemies fubfervient
to their purpofes. The former, are warriors, the
latter, politicians. They environ themfelves with a
fubftance, alluring to the eye and grateful to the

tafte.

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 28?

tafte. The birds feed upon this fubftance, and are
nourifhed by it -, and by a natural operation, fow the
feeds again in the earth. They devour the fruit, but
this does not damage the feed, which is too hard to
be affefted by their digeftive powers. Many other
fruits that have ftones in them, are fown by the fame
means. This finefie is not peculiar to the animals
of our hemifphere. The nutmeg, is a kind of peach,
growing in Molucca •, its nuts bring in a large revenue
to the States of Holland ; who, that they may referve
to themfelves the benefits rifmg from it, have endea-
voured to deftroy and eradicate this tree, in the iflands
that do not belong to them ; but their attempts are in
vain: a particular fpecies of fea fow), fowing it, foon
after they have eaten it. Thus weak is man, when he
militates againfl nature : a whole nation could not ex-
tirpate one fmgle vegetable.

THE King of Prufiia for the encouragement of po-
pulation, once gave orders to cut down fome forefts,
to provide lands for new married people. It was re-
prefented to him, that this meafure would occafion a
icarcity of timber ; to which he made anfwer, " I
bad much rather have men in my dominions, than
trees." Can it be fuppofed that the fovereign ruler
of all things, would not rather chufe for his iubjectsj
animate beings, than mere uninformed machines ?

WE have feen animalcule moving in the juice of
plants — and although they are too minute for us,
their various operations are imperceptible to our or-
gans, though affifted by the bed microfcopes : yet
they as certainly labour, aft in concert, and perform
every thing elfe I have related of them, as the ani-
mal inhabitants of the Madrepores, and Litophites
— for as thefe are the plants of the fea, the others
are in like manner the Madrepores of the air.

You

2.88 VOYAGE to the ISL£ OF FRANCE.

^ You will fay, they certainly differ in their con-
flruction, becaufe the Madrepores do not bear fruit
— but this is an opinion rather ftarted, than to be re-
ceived. For'tistobeconftderecl, thatthey liveinafluid,
where their fruits . can neither fall nor roll ; to what
end then mould they environ the colony with a cum-
berfome body •, or with a lighter fubftance, like thft
wad which furfounds the fefcds, which are to fall in
the water.

IT is certain however, that a milky juice has been
feen in their flowers, like that in the feeds of our
fruits, which milk is difperfed in the fea like the
ipawn of fiili.

. . . • /

ARTS and manners differ, in different elements;
a failor and a citizen, are both of them men, but a
fhip and a houfe, are by no means conftruded alike.

THE little animals, builders of the plants in the
air, live in an element which appears to be in perpe-
tual motion,T-the moil gentle zephyr, is to them a
hurricane. They have taken the molt prudent pre-
cautions to fecure the foundations of their edifices,:
and to tranfport their families without rifk of their
being damaged or fcattered abroad.

THOSE Wno build in the fea, live in a fluid, which
is not altogether fp daftly put in motion-, arid when once
agitated, moves in waves and large maffes. The drops
are not fo active and penetrating as the globules, of
which the air is formed, and which are inceffantly
dilated, and contracted, by different degrees of heat
or cold. They do not therefore require to be fo
carefully incloled, as thofe feeds, which are liable to
be fo eaftly diflipated. Their milk is befides of a
more vifcous nature, not eaftly diftblved.

VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE. 289

j , JF the animals of the water, had inhabited a ftill
more folid element, for example, the earth; they
Would not have been expofed to any fort of agitation.
And it is probable that they would then have had no
pccaiion to put down roots, to raife a ftem, fpread
out leaves, fafhion flowers, or fabricate fruits, as do
thole that inhabit the air.

IN confirmation of my afiertion ; the truffle has
hone of the parts abovementioned, nor has it any uie*
for them. To what end mould there be flowers on a
plane that never fees the fun, or roots to a vegetable
hot expofed to any mock ? I have heard many people
lay, they cannot divine by what means the truffle is
reproduced : its revivifcency is in rny opinion, effect
ed by the communication of its animalcule with each
other through the interior parts of the foil it grows in,
where reigns a calm eternal and undifturbed. — The
fluid being tranquil, the communication, cannot but
be eafy — no veffels are neceffary, for the little inha-
bitants may fwim along in fafety. One would be al-
moll forry that the animals of fo charming a fruit,
mould be fo indolent, and of fuch apparent incapacity:
but the endowments of every being, are proportioned
to its necefllties — and man, of all beings the moil in-
digent, is at the fame time the moft intelligent, 'Tis
to be wifhed indeed, that he were the happieft ; and
yet the inhabitants of the truffle, though k-fs fenfiblc
than others, may perhaps be more contented

HAVING accounted I hope, for. the ordinary caufes
of vegetation, if you are not yet fatisfied, I will now
fpeak of its extraordinary productions : and my belt
mode of doing this, will be by anticipating fuch ob-
jections as I think you may probably make to what has
been already advanced ; and the rirll is one, which
you will lay perhaps, all the laws of hydraulics can-
not obviate. — That a young tree, full of fap, fre-

U quently

291 VOYAGE to the ISLE OF FRANCE.

fought after. Others have been mentioned, and ve-
ry juftly condemned by Monfieur Voltaire, for hav-
ing taken out the bowels of a living dog, to fhew
the fpectators the lacteal veins. 1 would by no means
encourage the practice of fuch barbarous experiments ,
but my fyitem does not affect the life of the animals,
whole exillence it is meant to prove. For as they
are too minute to become the objects of vifion, fo
neither can they be affected by our powers- of di-
geftion.

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